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THE 

MASTEREON, 

OE 

REASON AND RECOMPENSE, 

A 

REVELATION 

CONCERNING THE 

Laws of IVUncL 

AND 

Modern Mysterious Phenomena, 

BY 

MARCENUS R. K. WRIGHT. 



The Self-JIade Author ani> Seer. 


CHICAGO, V No.£fe|Jj^ 

Eeeigio-Philosophical Publish*^* Huuse^ 

s. g. JONES & CO., 

1872. 



l«7 



?- 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year Eighteen Hundred and 

Seventy-two, 

BY MARCENUS R. K. WRIGHT, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



ELECTROTYPED BY ' PRINTED BY 

WOOD & RAND, EMIL SCHOBER, 

DETROIT. DETROIT. 



DED/GA TION. 



To those who seek for knowledge, who love re- 
flection, who enjoy freedom of thought, are unbiassed 
in mind and unprejudiced in purpose, who are fully 
released from the trammels of a conformable intel- 
lectuality and all associative circumscription in life; 
to those who are ministers of their own mentality 
and hold to a studied consistency in all dealing, who 
are willing to acknowledge the truth without self- 
abuse of conscience and who labor for the general 
good of man, this, the first volume of the "Master- 
eon," is most respectfully dedicated by 



THE AUTHOR. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

The Abseneist. Initial Reflections. 

CHAPTER II. 
Early Recollections. Visions and Thoughts. 

CHAPTER III. 
Boyhood Days. Mental Influences. Nature. 

CHAPTER IV. 
A vivid Dream. Home Conversations. Ginger- 
Bread Visions. A Father's Council. 

CHAPTER V. 
Contemplations. The Ancient Prophets. Sweden- 
borg and Andrew Jackson Davis. 

CHAPTER VI. 
The Phenomena of Spiritualism. The Fox Fa- 
mily. A Mother's Advice. 

CHAPTER VII. 
Went to hear the Rappings. Rev. Charles Ham- 
mond. Motives of the Departed. 



CONTENTS. Y 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Various Opinions concerning the Dead. 

CHAPTER IX. 

Reflections. Free Thinkers. Beauty of Nature. 
A strange Sight. 

CHAPTER X. 
Personal Realizations. A Vision. 

CHAPTER XL 
A Year's Travel. Singular Phenomena in Spring- 
field, Illinois. 

CHAPTER XII. 
Dr. Bell's Statement, with Thoughts concerning 
the Springfield Demonstrations. 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Popular Prejudices. Miss Irish, the Medium. 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Convictions. Private Scenes and Friendly Mes- 
sages from the Unseen. 

CHAPTER XV. 
Conscientious scruples. Traveling with the Spirits. 
A Prayer. 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Contemplations. Strange Feelings. A Voice 
of Council. Spirit Messages. 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Friendly Acquaintances. A Letter from Home. 
Sickness. A Touching Communication. 



VI CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
Personal Affairs. My Father's Death, Angel 
Guardianship. Move to Michigan. 

CHAPTER XIX. 
Money. Its Rewards. A Voice. Planchette. 
Hearing in Spirits. 

CHAPTER XX. 
A Remarkable Message. 

CHAPTER XXI. 
The Principle of Will. 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Spirit Hearing Established. Imprisoned in Psy- 
chology. Suffering and Success. 



gnfrobucfort) preface. 



The preface to a book is as necessary to its 
composition, as the gilt-edged frame of a looking- 
glass is needful to its ornamentation and finish. It 
is the mirror wherein is reflected the design of the 
author. His objects, whether good or bad, are indi- 
cated in its words; and the subjects whereof he 
treats are foreshadowed in that "light of wisdom" 
which he alone possesses, and which is the measure 
of his qualification, ability or success. 

The present volume was written with the inten- 
tion of explaining a mystery — the mystery of the 
action of the mental faculties in their more interior 
and abnormal exercise. The writer is himself a 
subject of abseneistic entrancement of mind, and has 
suffered the severest trials and punishments, as well 
as enjoyed the fullest happiness which man is capa- 
ble of experiencing at the hands of "invisible powers" 
under the influence of psychology. 

Personally I hold to no man's opinions, and accept 
only those conclusions which are supported by infer- 
ences well founded in re?3on, or which are based 
upon those essential details of knowledge which 
science can fully recognize and adopt as true. The 
idealisms and fictitious sentimentality of either the 
opponents or advocates of certain existing, and some- 



VIII INTRODUCTORY PREFACE. 

what popular theories, it is not my purpose to regard 
or consider; while to trim and fashion my individual 
thoughts to conform to the standard measure of any 
system of religion, any pattern of philosophy, or the 
expectations of those who career their "spiritual 
aptisms" before the world, on the ground of their 
origin in the wisdom of the '-saints of heaven," is 
an object wholly at varience with the established 
convictions and fixed purpose of my understanding. 

An experience of better than three years con- 
tinuance as a subject of conversational communion 
with "invisible beings," and visioned observation 
of the conditions of life which they inherit, necessa- 
rily induces and supports a belief in the author's 
mind, that all systems of religion which have been 
founded and sustained by men and governments 
daring past ages, or which belong to a more recent 
period, are but the result of eclesiastical solicitude, 
or circumstances connected with the advancement 
and progress of mankind, and cannot be said to be a 
manifestation of that exalted and quiet wisdom which 
is never flattered, and which supplies its shafts of in- 
telectual light to restrain rather than cajole or excite 
human belief and confidence. 

The claim which I herein advance to an artic- 
ulate hearing "in the spirit," or to audable converse 
with the immortals in the mind, is susceptable of the 
clearest and most satisfactory demonstration, not 
only as a question of practical interest with spirits, 
but one which science may easily reach through the 
law of analogy, and establish over all objections, or 
attempts at confutation. 



INTRODUCTORY PREFACE. IX 

At first thought it may appear to some that 
this singular, silent process of communion with the 
departed, is a privilege much to be enjoyed, and 
one which could bring only peace, contentment and 
satisfaction to the soul. But this is not so. In truth, 
so far as individual happiness is concerned, positive 
personal experience in almost every instance clearly 
substantiates an exactly opposite conclusion. For as 
between the practical righteousness and purposed 
mischief of spirits, and the doubts, quibbles and mis- 
givings of men, the clairvoyant receives but little 
enjoyment or consolation in the interblended life, 
which it is his to accept at the hand of his invisible 
guardian. 

The communion of spirits with mortals, and the 
somnambulic life of the seer, are questions which 
involve the most serious reflection, as a consequence 
of the mystery in which they have been enwrapt; 
and even those of whom, most of all, it would seem 
that we might expect more lucid and consistent ex- 
planations, are in reality themselves but too often 
deceived or misled in understanding, owing to self- 
assumption, credulity, pride, haste or indifference, and 
are therefore but ill-qualified to satisfy or exalt the 
human mind by a truthful or accordant revelation 
of facts and secrets, which are thus suspended in 
uncertainty and the analysis of critical argumentation. 
Selfish motives and arrogance, it is true, are 
many times a source of success, where genuine mental 
worth, and ability humbly given, are humiliated by 
defeat. The most wondrous schemes, involving good 
as well as evil purposes, are usually concocted in the 



X INTRODUCTORY PREFACE. 

darkest closets. Thus, while it may be of interest at 
times, for the mind to withhold its knowledge from 
common observation and comment, as a means of self- 
protection and as a choice in the peaceful persuit 
of life; still it cannot be said to be just or wise for 
men or' spirits to exercise thought in deceitful conceal- 
ment of truth, or needful to barter away a worthy 
judgment for those literary riddles, which veil and 
mystify the plain suggestions of reason and common 
sense. 

In dealing with all phenomena it should become 
the just and considerate purpose of the human mind 
to concede a propriety in liberal and consistent criti- 
cism, and this sentiment should be rendered practical 
in the exercise of thought, as well as material to the 
production of all literature which pertains to religion,, 
science or philosophy. Our safety in belief is only 
to be secured by strict adherence to caution, hesi- 
tancy and delay, in the acceptance of new ideas and 
opinions. Credulity is, indeed, the last concession 
which man should consider acceptable, and it were 
even better to parry the presence of truth for a< 
while, than to become the subject of unwise haste in 
matters of thought, sentimentality or confidence. 

The author holds to nature as the source of life,, 
and accepts the evidence of a Divine Presence and 
Infinite Guardianship as inseperably associated there- 
with. Nature is to him the "all in all" of destiny, 
of existence, the "only hope" of mind, the basis 
of all expectation or certainty in being, and the only 
promise ever given to man of a life of eternal con- 
tinuance and progress. 



INTRODUCTORY PREFACE. Xr 

All life is founded in nature, is of nature, and 
from nature can never be released. Man is clothed 
with an outer vesture, and dwells upon the surface 
of a terrestrial sphere, receiving his sustenance and 
support from the various products of nature which 
surrounds him. The spirit, being released from its 
external barriers, lives within the confines of the 
aerial heavens, a wa-de-un or immersed condition 
of existence, and is supported by ethereal respiration. 

The ostensable object held in view in publishing 
a, series of articles to be embodied in volumes under 
the general title of the "Mastereon," is to teach the 
" philosophy of life," to explain the motives repre- 
sented in the "principle of justice," as viewed in the 
light of its appointments and application to the needs 
of objects and things in the temple of nature, and to 
the interests of the human mind. There are two 
extremes of manifestation alternating and co-operating 
in the universe to the inevitable production of Power 
and Purpose, and it is quite evident that the "golden 
mein" is the "poise of wisdom" around which the 
unstaid and ever-persistent energies and activities 
evolved in creation, move with steadfast consistency 
and unyielding force, to the ultimate and constant 
production of innumerable, diversified, fixed and mov- 
ing forms. 

The evolution of thought in organic periphery 
of vital and self-conscious life, is nature's greatest 
success, and when once established, the mind forever 
prompts its own advantage in being, through the 
amplification of a genius secured in contention, op- 
position, and the never-ceasing struggle for self-satis- 



XII INTRODUCTORY PREFACE. 

faction in existence. It is designed to consider the 
"philosophy of immortality," and to substantiate the 
impartial and unselfish design of the Infinite, All- 
providing Spirit, in his bestowment of eternal life 
upon all mankind alike. It is also designed to re- 
flect upon the important and deeply interesting sub- 
ject of " futurity," the relation which we at present 
sustain to interior and more exalted realms of being, 
and the cause of the unhappy demonstrations and 
mystery, with which the "invisibles" are many times 
wont to clothe their acts and manifestations, in their 
dealing and intercourse with mankind. 

In treating of these and kindred themes of thought 
we are likely to differ with many thinkers and stu- 
dents in philosophy, with many writers upon meta- 
physical subjects, and those seers of the past and 
present, who have chosen to adopt theories, or ad- 
vance conclusions, as based altogether upon the advice 
of spirits and that abnormal state so peculiar to their 
mental experience. The condition of the unseen in- 
habitants of higher spheres is a question not yet 
answered to the entire satisfaction of the human 
mind, and the appearance of spirit beings, as seen in 
the deepest visions of clairvoyance, may in a degree 
be reflected upon as a mission in concealment of the 
actual when the history of phenomena and the science 
of optics is wisely regarded. 

Spiritualism in its phenomenal aspect is phenom- 
enally unchanged in all the ages, and is permanent 
in its obligation or fidelity, to a system of enigmati- 
cal and untrustworthy developments — manifestations 
which annoy and perplex the intellect, which confuse 



INTRODUCTORY PREFACE. XIII 

the understanding, and trifle with the heart in its 
anxiety and sincere search after a knowledge of the 
conditions of trans-mundane existence. 

It will appear evident to those who see fit to 
peruse the contents of this volume, and more espe- 
cially to those who are familiar with the principles 
of psychology and the entranced action of man's 
mental faculties, that the privilege which I herein 
affirm to possess as a "natural clairvoyant," as well 
as the singular method of confirmation by which it 
was established, is as truly wondrous in its more un- 
happy features, as it is remarkable as an extraordi- 
nary accomplishment in a somnambulic transition 
of mind. 

While I regard it as the greatest pleasure which 
I am ever likely to enjoy as a dweller in outward 
life, to speak in conversational familiarity with tho 
spirit kindred of my Father's Household, and other? 
wherein it is permitted, I at the same time deem it 
needful to conform to the strictest and most rigid 
rules of reason in ray dealings with and receipt 
of intelligence from them ; and I would in every case 
admonish zealots and enthusiasts, to restrain their 
anxiety, and avoid that patrimony of tho "future 
life,' 1 which is too frequently conceived in uneasiness, 
haste and folly. 

Mind may properly serve itself only in the more 
quiet and desirable ways of wisdom. The peace and 
happiness of the world is more or less interfered 
with, by our solicitous attention to thoso subjects 
which are deeply veiled in the ample folds of the 
mantle of nature. Under the almost insensible in- 



XIV INTRODUCTORY PREFACE. 

fluence of psychology, as practiced by the missionary 
monitors of the inward realms of life, the mind is 
often deceived in regard to the cause of its own de- 
cisions, and feels a responsibility on account of its 
duties and operations which in truth should rest with 
the discretion, goodness, or otherwise ill-chosen in- 
tentions of unseen and intelligent beings. 

Could the author have foreknown the extent 
of his trials and sufferings, or the effect of spirit- 
magnetization upon his mental faculties, he would 
have early restrained his feelings of anxiety and de- 
sire, as occasioned by his love for and hope in an 
immortal existence, and would certainly have shun- 
ned, rather than have accepted the decision of a spirit- 
brother in his behalf, as a mesmeric subject of his 
will. 

The human mind is in reality but an organic 
instrument, singularly acute in its sensibilities, and 
may be played upon by invisible beings or agents, 
with the same ease and precision with which a good 
musician is enabled to play or execute music upon 
his favorite piano or violin. The unseen, aerial mag- 
netizer may cause his subject to remember or forget, 
to feel active or stupid, wakeful or sleepy, ugly and 
snarling or joyous and pleasant, may revive old me- 
mories, lead the person into misery, prompt unwise 
desires, inflame the passions, or point the way to 
happiness, success and worthy expectation in life. 

Mankind will ere long discover that man is as 
nature intended him to be, both as to the good and 
ill results presented in the characteristics and mani- 
festations of his being, and that the most wondrous 



INTRODUCTORY PREFACE. XT 

law associated with his existence and destiny is the 
law of Psychology, which, when rightly understood^ 
or properly comprehended, will constitute a most 
marvelous revelation of the wisdom of the Omnipotent 
mind, as displayed in the spiritual interests of the 
boundless universe, over which he casts his merciful 
influence and wields supreme command. 

I claim no infallibility as a seer, and believe in 
none as pertaining to those who have lived in former 
ages. While it is true that the clairvoyant is a sub- 
ject of the most sensitive mind, and may receive 
absolute knowledge concerning many things which 
are hidden from ordinary inspection, it is also quite 
as certain that the very sensitiveness of his nature 
is a basis for the unconscious committal of frequent 
mistakes and blunders, if not of acts more objection- 
able, as founded in the mesmeric control of the im- 
mortals. 

The story of the author's somnambulic career, or 
a goodly portion thereof, is hereby introduced, that 
the reader may have the benefit of a more extended 
acquaintance with the facts and circumstances which 
have tended to produce his most singular mental 
realizations. -Although it might seem desirable, it is 
deemed impracticable at the present time to give a 
fuller explanation. It is hoped however that in the 
future, and at no very distant day, a more complete 
statement may be presented, one which shall embody 
every shade of thought which may have a bearing 
upon the subject of a personal experience in many 
particulars, quite as marvelous, as its lessons are 
likely to be, to most minds, inscrutable. 



XVI INTRODUCTORY PREFACE. 

Three years and a half have now elapsed since 
I first listened to the speech of spirits. During that 
entire period I have passed no day without conver- 
sations with my angel guardian, spirit kindred and 
friends. My brother, who is my watchful protector, 
and guide lives above my head somewhere within 
the limit of the atmosphere. He speaks with me as 
kindly, though not as familiarly as when upon the 
earth previous to his desease, which occurred when 
I was a boy, some twenty-seven years ago. When 
he first revealed himself to me, in the winter of 1868, 
I was in every way an incompetent scholar. By his 
aid I have so far advanced in a knowledge of letters 
as to be able, not only to write very weil, but to 
read, correct and punctuate my own compositions. 
I have no knowledge, only that derived from conver- 
sations and visions, concerning the position of my 
Brother in the atmosphere. His life is greatly changed. 
I am not prepared to speak as to this matter in any 
particular sense in this volume. I am satisfied that 
many of the ideas of spiritualists concerning the de- 
parted are as fictitious as the arts and wiles of misery 
itself. My Brother appears to love me as fondly as 
when a denizen in outward life. But there is a law 
of mystery dominating over sincerity in the spirit 
world, which prevents the consumation of desirable 
happiness in communion, as between them and us. 
The little which I receive from my brother and 
others in spirit is meeted out to me under restraints 
and the bickerings of this law — a condition of things, 
which however wise as in the interest of the "supe- 
rior life," I could not personally approve in the light 



INTRODUCTORY PREFACE. XVII 

of my knowledge of the principles of goodness, justice, 
truth and righteousness. 

That spirits are more wise than mortals can 
conceive is a truth which may ere long be learned 
through sad experience. All the opposition of men 
is futile as against the psychologic power pushed in 
the interest of our progress by unseen beings. The 
Angels of Wisdom ride the aereal stratifications above 
us to qualify every judgment of man, wherein there 
is abuse of human life. Theology is the score which 
mortals may settle by the aid of the Angel World. 
Let us hope that our differences may be adjusted 
without incurring penalties which would malign our 
good sense, or destroy our hopes in that heaven to 
which we are all tending in spite of our opinions. 

With these prefatory and somewhat extended 
explanations and considerations the reader is referred 
to the semi-biographical and critical narrative which 
constitutes this the first valume of the "Mastereon." 



^e ^artextoft. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE ABSENEIST. INITIAL EEFLECTIONS. 

In considering the highest form of psychological 
development, a condition of mind known to scientists 
as clairvoyance, and which in its ultimate stretch 
of power, of vision, of knowledge, is as really true 
as it is marvelous, we are obliged to conform in our 
reasonings and conclusions, to that privilege of per- 
sonal experience and education which limits all indi- 
vidual ability, yet which furnishes the only reliable 
evidence upon which to found a practical judgment. 

Somnambulism is a peculiar form of mental ma- 
nifestation, and its more negative phases are ever 
prophetic of an exaltation of the senses in interior 
light and knowledge. When once attained this con- 
dition of mind is both a source of personal success 
and happiness. Many are the mistaken claims to the 



THE ABSENEIST. INITIAL REFLECTIONS. 19 

prerogatives of intelligence which it confers, and ter- 
rible is the degradation to which the word clair- 
voyant has been subjected. 

If persons by any influence become subject to 
involuntary movements of the arm, or feel the im- 
pulse of magnetic forces acting upon the nervous 
system, they at once begin to pride themselves upon 
their ability as Clairvoyants. The supercilious phy- 
sician, looking to the interests involved in the pursuit 
of his daily practice, puts the hoodwink of Clair- 
voyance over the eyes of the public, and covering 
his falsifications too deep for ordinary inspection or 
discernment, secures his individual credit, while arro- 
gating to himself the propriety of practicing a "yan- 
kee trick,'* or of making life conform to the "art 
of duplicity." 

Thousands of persons imbued with incipient psy- 
chologic impulses, as imposed upon them from invi- 
sible sources, have felt an occasional and unexpected 
inclination to involuntary muscular movements, while 
others have become unconsciously entranced through 
the force of will, as exercised by a guardian mission- 
ary of the inner life. But to win that worthy attain- 
ment in knowledge and understanding, which enables 
the mind to look upon the scenes of the invisible, 
and converse with the immortals in audible speech 
of the Spirit, is to reach a condition of optical and 
auditory permissions as little understood as they are 
rarely attained. 

Mind is abased by assumption, as it is elevated 
by strict obedience to straight - forward consistency. 
Hence it should be our uniform desire to speak with 



20 THE ABSENEIST. INITIAL REFLECTIONS. 

candor, when asking the confidence of men to our 
claims as possessors of any new or unusual phase 
of mental development, whether naturally or phe- 
nomenally exhibited, for by so doing we avoid the 
derision of our own honor, and retain the respect 
and esteem of others in the privilege which we enjoy. 

The actual in clairvoyant experience, as produced 
by unseen agents, is still deeply hidden from the 
comprehension of men, more perhaps as a consequence 
of the impracticability of a free disclosure, than from 
a w T ant of media or channels through which to obtain 
it; and notwithstanding the many efforts of scientists 
to fathom the mysteries of mind as abnormally pre- 
sented, the whole subject still remains overshadowed 
by doubts, uncertainties and qualifications, which time 
and honest investigation alone may prove adequate 
to remove. 

One of the most singular features presented in 
connection with all psychologic manifestations is to- 
be found in the utter want of perspicuity which is 
displayed in their examination. Investigators have 
engaged in the study of this science with greater 
curiosity of mind, than serenity or sincerity of pur- 
pose, and owing to the difficulty of readily reaching 
an understanding of the cause of mental action, and 
more especially in its abnormal features, they have 
either abandoned the subject altogether in haste, be- 
lieving it to be to profound for research or compre- 
hension, or under the ban of popular fears and ob- 
jections, have advanced a score of visionary theories, 
alike destructive of the interests of truth, as they 
are confusing to the student of mental philosophy. 



THE ABSENEIST. INITIAL REFLECTIONS. 21 

Those who have claimed to enjoy the highest 
privilege ia absenteeism of miad, have conferred upon 
themselves but little credit for the lucidity of their 
interpretation of mental or metaphysical phenomena, 
and while claiming to possess a permission in the 
exercise of dual intellectual powers, either from mo- 
tives in self-regard or from interior psychologic debar- 
ment, they have reserved their knowledge from public 
keeping. 

Mind may be ever so familiar with the "invisi- 
bles," may converse by ''impressional thought" in all 
the perfection of distinct articulation, it may seem to 
wander through the heavens in the enjoyment of 
clairvoyant visions and return to the outward sense 
with unfledged memory, but the consciousness of the 
actual possession of spirit sight as disconnected with 
the material substance of the natural eye — the retina 
and its brain connections — is in no mortal man to be 
made valid as a claim ; neither is it possible to 
establish the practicability of such disembodyment 
of life, in view of the present advanced condition 
of optical science, and those who demand concessions 
to a claim so improbable, are either themselves hon- 
estly mistaken in regard to the manner of the pro- 
duction of visions, or knowing the cause and manner 
of their development are guilty of the practice of a 
species of candid duplicity in presuming to withhold 
from the public a proper knowledge of most impor- 
tant facts. 

Clairvoyance is the slippery ground which lies 
between full consciousness as in outward life, and the 
silence of a super-terrestrial realm of existance. It is 



22 THE ABSENEIST. INITIAL REFLECTIONS. 

the "deep sleep" wherein the mental faculties are 
calm and free to be acted upon, or impressed with 
inward realizations by spirit magnetizers, in a sense 
w consonance with the natural action of the mind. 

Visions are objectively and subjectively a mesmeric 
production, and are always under the direction of an 
operator. All images and scenes thus presented are 
forced upon the faculties of perception by the action 
of a foreign will, and it is a fiction to suppose that 
a condition of self-induced trance is possible, or that 
any state of trance in which intelligence is manifested, 
may be developed without aid from extraneous sources. 

Mind cannot be released from its association with 
the nervous fiber or cell substance of the brain until 
physical dissolution absolutely occurs, and although 
visions may be granted to the clairvoyant embodying 
all the wondrous beauty and perfection of stereosco- 
pic pictures, still these scenes so gorgeous and grand, 
so indiscribably perfect, are visions only in the mind, 
enstamped thereon by beings who hold the particu- 
lars of the scene in their own conception, and im- 
part the counterthought or reflection thereof — so to 
speak — to the subject's mind by the power of will. 
Hence, visions are not the result of observation 
through the eyes of the spirit, as freed from its 
association with the constituent elements of the out- 
ward eye and brain, but are pictures hung upon the 
wails of the mind by spirit desire, to be gazed upon 
in the stillness and death-like condition of trance, or 
magnetic slumber. 

We cannot go beyond the bound of mental action 
as associated with brain substance, for a solution 



THE ABSENETST. INITIAL REFLECTIONS. 23 

of the problem of interior sight. Mind rests within 
its enfolded limits, and all its manifestations and re- 
alizations are confined within the barriers fixed in 
the organic relation of the chemical compounds of the 
material form. 

It is manifest evidence of short-sightedness in 
arriving at logical conclusions, to suppose that the 
spirit may be released from its connection with the 
physical body in clairvoyance, or even that such dis- 
union of soul and body is necessary to the attainment 
of its most exalted condition. When mind is locked 
up in the '-deep sleep " of somnambulistic abstraction, 
it is living in abeyance of another's desires and will, 
and is in reality only an instrument, well or ill 
attuned to the purpose of the reception of visions or 
intelligence, as placed to the account of its faculties 
by " ministering spirits," who possess a full and prac- 
tical knowledge of all its- powers, capacities and 
capabilities. 

We are not willing to assert that those who 
enter the state of clairvoyance are at all times re- 
sponsible for the mistakes which they commit, either 
as regards the details of statements which they pre- 
sent, or the disclosures which they offer for public 
consideration while in that condition, from the fact 
that the subjugation of mind in psychology presupposes 
irresponsibility. But when the mental faculties are 
unencumbered and free from all imposed influences, 
then the individual should regard his or her experi- 
ence in the li^ht of external reason, and endeavor to 
determine how much, and how far such interior de- 
velopment of mind should be allowed to govern life's 



24 THE ABSENEIST. INITIAL REFLECTIONS. 

outward interests, and should never willingly permit 
credence or enthusiasm to precede the exercise of dis- 
crimination and judgment. 

As mortals we may have, and memory may cher- 
ish the most singular fancies and realizations, but it 
is only when we arrive at manhood's or womanhood's 
maturer years, that we are enabled to properly con- 
sider the usefulness of all the circumstances and inci- 
dents which have, or may come within the sphere 
of our observation, or which have fallen to our lot 
as individuals, and make them guides to personal im- 
provement and education. 

The science of psychology is best known as a 
science of mental influences, developed by mesmeric 
control under the action of an operator. Its results 
are produced by the positive and negative relations 
established between mind and mind through desire or 
mutual purpose and effort. 

In the absence of reliable knowledge concerning 
the future life and spirit ability, mankind have mostly 
attributed such phenomena, especially when occurring 
in the form of "possession," "obsession," or "witch- 
craft," to demoniacal presence, to desease, insanity 
and hallucination, instead of finding the real and res- 
ponsible cause, through earnest research and investi- 
gation. 

Upon our knowledge of existence depends our 
success in being. In view of this fact and wishing 
for the best good of every person living, we now 
solicit the companionship and confidence of the reader, 
while we journey along the rugged and mysterious 
pathway of abseneistic thought and experience, reach- 



EARLY RECOLLECTIONS, VISIONS AND THOUGHTS. 25 

ing from childhood through better than thirty years 
of life; and in the pursuit of our object we hope and 
pray that we may be enabled to serve a worthy 
purpose in explaining some of the most difficult prob- 
lems involved in mental science and spiritual philo- 
sophy, 



CHAPTER II. 

EAELY KECOLLECTIONS, VISIONS AND 
THOUGHTS. 

When I was a small boy, being only three years 
old, I was one day with my mother in the cellar 
of our large house where she had gone for the pur- 
pose of obtaining some provisions for the family 
table, when being in that semi-somnambulic condition 
of mind which is quite natural to me, and looking 
about, I distinctly saw the shadowy figure of a child 
accompanied by a large black dog or animal, which 
she was leading in the direction of the open doorway 
through which we had but just entered the under- 
ground apartment. In the excitement and anxiety 
which the apparition occasioned in my mind, and at 



26 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS, VISIONS AND THOUGHTS. 

the very moment I observed its appearance, I said to 
her in whom I then placed my trust and confidence 
as a child : " Oh I mother, what is that strange thing 
walking across the cellar," when under the influence 
of fear I clung to her side in the fullness of my 
desire for safety. 

My mother seeing no propriety in my conduct, 
and wondering at what she considered a very singu- 
lar " freak of fancy," as represented in my statements 
and actions, very seriously remarked, " don't be so 
foolish, my boy, there's nothing in the cellar to hurt 
you," when fulfilling the domestic mission which she 
had in view, she took me by the hand and led me 
out into the yard behind the house, and thence into 
the kitchen, where I soon found employment for my 
thoughts as well as ultimate relief from the memory 
of my vision. 

This little incident occurring, as it did, at that 
early period of my life, was necessarily as new and 
strange to me, as it was unaccountable and unpleas- 
ant, and, although it left a deep and lasting impres- 
sion upon my youthful mind, it did not at that time 
seem to foreshadow any particular event, or have 
any special signification. But we are naturally led 
to inquire as a result of the appearance of such an 
apparition: What were the more minute peculiarities 
represented in its movements? How long did it 
remain visible? What was the probable cause of its 
production? Was the vision desirable? Did the 
objects seen appear to hold a real and tangible 
identity, or did they embody merely vaporish and 
unsubstantial characteristics? 



EARLY RECOLLECTIONS, VISIONS AND THOUGHTS. 27 

Mind naturally looks to itself for a solution 
of the mysteries which pertain to its existence. It 
wanders in search of the intangible and the uncertain, 
through a love for the idea or hope of immortality, 
and a desire for a knowledge of its truth, and of the 
cause, if any there be, of its unrestricted continuance in 
individualized consciousness and self-poised identity ; and 
in its reasonings concerning the ideal and the invis- 
ible, it ever bases its conclusions upon the best evi- 
dence at its command. In regarding all mental phe- 
nomena therefore, and especially that which seems 
to have no adequate cause, it becomes needful to 
make candid inquiry in relation to every attendant 
fact and circumstance, before rendering a final judg- 
ment as to its purport, merit, reality, value or object. 
We should inquire why a child should be able to see 
a thing which did not and could not exist as a 
genuine reality. Why a grown person in the same 
apartment should be unable to discover any object, 
and why the apparition itself should appear and dis- 
appear in such precise and unlooked for order, the 
mind being unable to duplicate itself in disagreeable 
illusions or develope within itself systematic scenes 
wholly at variance with its inclinations and thoughts. 
These are questions which will bear reflection, and 
which, while they may prove to be somewhat diffi- 
cult to answer, are sure to become a source of plea- 
sure as well as of instruction to the intellect, when 
once understood or properly comprehended. 

The singularity of all interior events and their 
signification can best be known when the mind is 
well unfolded in its capacity to discern the relation 



28 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS, VISIONS AND THOUGHTS. 

which we hold as sentient beings to a higher life, 
and that inscrutable, will-engendered power which is 
exercised over us by unseen agents, or, in other 
words, when we are able to fathom the relation 
which inward causative action sustains to outward 
appearances, movements and manifestations. If those 
who earnestly seek for a knowledge of the more hid- 
den and mysterious secrets pertaining to philosophy, 
metaphysics and the realms of the immortal, would 
but assume the responsibility of fearless investigation, 
thus making themselves acquainted and familiar with 
the essential circumstances and conditions which tend 
to veil our perceptions and annoy as well as con- 
found reason in its effort to rise in enlightment and 
wisdom, they would unquestionably soon discover that 
all so called "unaccountable developments" and " mar- 
velous manifestations," whether of a physical or men- 
tal nature, are susceptable of receiving a rational and 
satisfactory explanation. 

It is uniformly the custom with bigots and super- 
ficialists to ignore the actuality of the strange and 
varied occurrances, which here and there, now and 
then, attract so much of public attention, and to 
condemn all phenomena which are accredited to in- 
visible and intelligent causes; and but few are willing 
to admit that any "practical good" is likely to be 
derived from an understanding of those psychologic 
or mental influences, which ever have, and still con- 
tinue to interblend all human experience with a 
solemn element of mystery. 

When I was somewhat older, and upon an occa- 
sion when least expected, it was again my privilege 



EARLY RECOLLECTIONS, VISIONS AND THOUGHTS. 29 

to observe the same strange figures as they passed 
before me, crossing the roadway along which I was 
walking in the night time, toward our family resi- 
dence. A little child which seemed to be not more 
than five years old, appeared upon the path at some 
distance in front of my position, seeming to come 
through an opening or gateway which led into a 
broad yard to my left. As she passed along without 
seeming to observe anything, I noticed the same 
large dark colored animal following close behind her, 
which I had seen upon the former occasion, when in 
the cellar with my mother, some five years previous. 
They moved slowly across the broad road to the 
right of my position, and as they approached an old 
stone building, on the opposite side from where I 
stood, very suddenly disappeared from my view. 
Under the impulse of a very unpleasant feeling — a 
sense of fear and anxiety resulting from what I had 
seen — I said to my Brother who was with me, and 
who was some seven years older than myself, and 
evidently unconscious of what had presented itself to 
my vision. u Oh! Jacob" — for that was his name — 
" did you see that little girl and great big dog going 
across the road just now." 

"No," said he, " don't be so foolish, my eyes are 
as good as yours I guess; hav'nt seen anything." 
When, noticing that I was frightened and that I 
clung to his side for safety, he took me by the hand 
and again remarked: "Come now, you're a simpleton, 
you're certainly mistaken, for I hav'nt seen a single 
thing, and I don't believe you have." 

"Yes I have," I replied, somewhat mortified at 



30 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS, VISIONS AND THOUGHTS. 

being doubted in regard to my honest and unselfish 
statements, "I never was more certain of anything 
in all my life, but you needn't believe it unless you 
choose." 

Brother laughed to hear me sputter, and said: 
"1 guess when you get home and get to bed you'll 
think no more about spooks and apparitions." 

Notwithstanding my Brother was unwilling to 
admit that I had seen anything, still in my own 
mind I was well satisfied that I had, and for some 
unaccountable reason I could not avoid conforming 
to the inclination of my mind, which seemed fixed 
in reflection upon the subject. 

As we passed along the pathway leading toward 
home, it being quite dark — the moon having suddenly 
disappeared behind a dense mass of clouds which 
arose from the west — and also late at night, I clung 
more closely to his side, through childish timidity 
and fear, until we reached the very door which 
opened into the kitchen of our old house, when feel- 
ing my courage revive and return with unusual force, 
and conceiving that my sincere confidence and hon- 
esty had been questioned, I very crustily remarked, 
in reply to some taunting expression which he had 
used in regard to my ghost-seeing proclivities, that, 
"if he'd mind his own affairs I'd thank him very 
much." 

We had now entered the family sitting room, 
and no sooner was Brother seated, then with a mis- 
chievous and mirthful look he commenced to relate 
to those present the story of my vision, peculiar 
actions and fears, equally to the derision of my plea- 



EARLY RECOLLECTIONS, VISIONS AND THOUGHTS. 31 

sure and the excitation of their joy and delight. 
Thinking that silence was commendable, or realizing 
that contention was useless and unavailing, I soon 
left the jocose party, who were having a laugh at 
my expense, and with a short and surly " I don't 
care: perhaps some of you'll see something that'll 
trouble you some time," I retired to the chamber 
where I usually slept, and crawling into bed all 
alone, was soon lost to every outward sense of con- 
sciousness or infelicity. 

Arising early on the subsequent morning, I 
thought but little of the affair of the previous night, 
and only as I was occasionally reminded of it by my 
Brother and Father, who loved to see me annoyed 
by their questionings and intimations concerning it, 
did I ever speak of this most singular and twice 
repeated scene of my early life, and consequently it 
was only treasured in the deep depths of my memo- 
ry to be reflected upon or regarded in after time as 
a curious incident, not unlike many others which 
frequently occur as a result of abseneistic abstraction 
of mind. 

It is well known to those who are acquainted 
with the laws of psychology and mental control, that 
any operator may impose objective visions upon the 
subject whom he holds under his influence. He may 
ask the question: "Do you see that mansion on the 
hill," — pointing in some given direction — "with its 
beautiful surroundings? See! the foliage of the trees, 
how chaste and delicate, and the many colored clus- 
ters of fragrant flowers, how sweet and pretty !" 

" Oh yes,' 1 is the enthusiastic response, " I see them] 



32 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS, VISIONS AND THOUGHTS. 

it's really the most facinating scene that 1 ever beheld. 
I wonder whose mansion it is" 

Thus the psychology is definitely impressed with 
the thoughts and conceptions of the person who exer- 
cises a conscious mental influence over him, and his 
coinciding views and rapturous expressions afford the 
most positive evidence that the subjects vision is in 
unison of perception with the reflections and will of his 
magnetizer. 

In and by this method it is shown to be pos- 
sible to produce delightful visions of unreal scenes in 
the mind of the subject of psychology, which is a 
result growing out of the contact of the elements 
of mentality under the exercise of will, as between 
man and man in external life. Now, if this be so, 
may it not be equally true that the "immortals," our 
friends and relatives in spirit life, who are presumed 
to retain their identity and powers of mind unim- 
paired after death, although unseen and perhaps at 
some distance from our location, are able to so at- 
tune our thoughts, so control our intellectual and 
semi-intellectual faculties, our emotions, passional in- 
clinations, motives and desires, as to produce the 
many dreams and realizations which are experienced 
in the state of sleep and in semi-wakeful conscious- 
ness by the majority of mankind. 

When I became old enough to reason concerning 
my own condition, and to observe the peculiarities 
manifested in the Absenteeism of my Fathers mind, 
he being a very intemperate thinker upon all subjects 
of interest, and in a state of trance-like reflection 
almost constantly, I could then much better realize 



EARLY RECOLLECTIONS, VISIONS AND THOUGHTS. 33 

the marvelous characteristics of my own experience, 
and could readily understand that I was in possession 
of the fruits of inherited somnambulism, like Himself, 
my Brother and other members of our family; and 
that for some cause, at the time to me unknown, I was 
a very susceptible subject of remarkable impressions, 
visions and thoughts, which in almost every instance 
seemed to be imparted to my mind with wondrous 
order and precision, as if intended for an intimation, 
notification or some personal benefit, and as if directed 
by some calculating and intelligent cause. 

When I was eleven years old, and during my 
school-boy days, I formed a habit — which was some- 
times rather overdone — of leaving my Father's roof 
after tea time, and of running away to the village, 
which was some half mile distant from our residence. 
There I would engage in various sports and pastimes 
with the boys of my age and acquaintance, and 
would remain until late at night, playing "tag/' 
"pom-pom-pull-away," or "hide and seek," when tir- 
ing of the games and frolisome diversions in which 
I delighted, I would leave my comrads and run like 
a u timid hero" that I was, toward home through the 
darkness. 

Upon one occasion, it being a beautiful moonlight 
evening, and the boys seeming to feel more like play 
than usual, it was proposed and settled upon among 
them to engage in the artful and athletic sport of 
" hunting the grey fox." The author of the sugges- 
tion to enlist in this pleasurable recreation, was a 
young man of agreeable disposition, possessing great 
physical endurance and firmness of mind. It was for this 



34 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS, VISIONS AND THOUGHTS. 

reason that he was chosen to fulfill the arduous labor de- 
volving upon the wary and lubricious "grey fox" in the 
chase of that delightful evening over the hills and 
through the valleys, about our native village. We had 
been running nearly an hour, sections of our little party 
dividing off and separating in various directions, to 
accomodate a more scrupulous search for the "leader," 
who had thus far successfully eluded the vigilance 
of his pursuers, when, through a circumstance, in 
following up a narrow ravine which was overhung 
with forest trees, and which was not far from my 
Father's residence, I lost every companion in the 
merry chase with the exception of one. Together 
we two — having concluded that further running and 
search was useless — walked leisurely along through 
the fields until we reached a private roadway which 
led across some pasture lands and ran under the hills 
beside a piece of woods, when making our course 
toward home, and just as we were walking up 
an embankment which led out to the main road, 
and which was behind a large promontory in front 
of our position, we were both surprised as well 
as puzzled to observe an old vacated shanty, which 
belonged to my Father and which had been locked 
up for some time, presenting a bright illumination 
at its western window. In our surprise we 

halted for a moment to look at the shining light 
which was distinctly visible, when I remarked to my 
companion with a feeling of anxiety: 

"It's very singular that a light should appear in 
the old shanty at this time o'night. I know my 
Father keeps a lock on the door. I wonder if some- 



EARLY RECOLLECTIONS, VISIONS AND THOUGHTS. 35 

body has'nt crawled in through the window to play 
cards or stay over night." 

Turning about with a slight shrug of the shoul- 
der, as if somewhat perplexed in mind, he replied : 

'•I hardly know what to think of it, Marcene," 
— using the abreviated name by which I was called 
— "it can't be the light of the moon, for that's rising 
in the east, and the window, which we see, is on 
the west side of the building, and beyond the reach 
of its rays." 

Remaining silent for a moment, he again re- 
marked, and this time with an evident air of timidity, 
which, I must confess, that as a boy I also to some 
degree experienced : 

"I guess, it's a mysterious affair, and we'd better 
go away." 

Starting together to pass around the brow of the 
hill which led to the highway, not more than sixty 
rods distant from my father's house, we now unex- 
pectedly met one of oar happy party, w T ho, having 
heard our voices, came around to meet us on the 
road. As he approached us, we directed his attention 
to the shanty which was still brilliantly lighted up, 
when he very facetiously ejaculated : 

'•That's an almighty curious thing." 

At this moment the thought came to my mind 
that, as there were three of us — our courage of course 
being naturally augmented by our numbers — it was 
our duty to go and see if we could discover the 
cause of the illumination, and so I said : 

'•Come now, say we go up toward the building 
and see for ourselves who or what there is in it." 



36 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS, VISIONS AND THOUGHTS. 

One of the boys made no reply, but evinced an 
inclination not to gratify my wishes by turning to 
go in the opposite direction, while the other, not 
more brave perhaps, but greatly more given to off- 
hand witticism and ready retort, very suggestively 
remarked : 

"Dev'l take the shanty, I guess it's bewitched.'' 
When with a very satisfied air he too turned to go 
away, and as my scarry sensations were very promi- 
nent at that particular moment, I made no hesitation 
about keeping pace with him in the retreat from 
that ghostly locality. 

We had now reached a point on the road which 
brought my Father's residence plainly to view, and 
as it was getting to be quite late in the evening, I 
bid my companions "good night," and went directly 
home. It was half past eleven o'clock, and no one 
was up of all our family, with the exception of my 
mother, who was patiently waiting my return, while 
industriously engaged in knitting a pair of coarse 
woolen stockings for some member of the household. 
As I entered the room where she was sitting, still 
in a flame of excitement over what I had seen, I 
very quickly remarked : 

"Oh, mother! Don't you believe that as three 
of us boys were coming round the hill to night, up 
on the farm road, we saw the Old Shanty all lit up." 

"You'r a simpleton," said she with a distrustful 
smile, "your father locked the door and fastened the 
windows some time ago, and no one can get into it. 
I guess, you'd better go to morrow and look again, 
and see how easy it is to be mistaken." 



EARLY RECOLLECTIONS, VISIONS AND THOUGHTS. 37 

I saw at once that my mother was incredulous, 
and inclined to discourage in me the trust in that 
knowledge which I supposed that I actually posses- 
sed, and so I said : 

"I'm satisfied that the shanty was lighted up, 
for I saw it with my own eyes, and so did the other 
boys, and in the morning I'm going up there to see 
if the door is fastened." 

ci Well," she replied, "you can do that, but you 
won't find anything more than an empty hovel." 

Perceiving that there was no hope of convincing 
her of the truth of what I had related, and feeling 
somewhat weary, as a result of the evenings rambles, 
I now took a candle from the long mantle which 
was near me, and with a singular sense of disap- 
pointment and mortification over what I had seen, 
and what had been said, I at once, as upon the occa- 
sion of my vision of the child, hastened to my sleep- 
ing apartment, and taking to my bed was soon lost 
in unconscious slumber. 

Dear reader, what do you think became of the 
lonely Old Shanty behind the hill. It was on Thurs- 
day evening that we saw the bright light which 
appeared at its window. The day following I visited 
the house and found the door closed and safely 
locked against all intruders, and everything about it 
seemed to be in good order and undisturbed. The 
evidence of its having been illuminated or occupied 
by strangers on the previous night was very meager 
indeed, in view of external proof to the contrary, 
and owing to my inability at that time, and as an 
inexperienced youth, to reason consecutively concern- 



33 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS, VISIONS AND THOUGHTS. 

ing the phenomena which I had beheld, in any light 
in which it might be regarded, I began to think 
that perhaps I was altogether mistaken, 

Friday and Saturday passed, and Sunday came 
with a pleasant smile to greet and cheer the weary 
toilers of the earth. On that day I wandered from 
home, over the hills and through the forest, far to 
the south of our family residence, being accompanied 
thither by a friendly acquaintance, whose general 
disposition and sportive tendencies of mind I had 
ever admired and held in the highest estimation. 
We traveled some four miles together to the place 
where my associate had made an appointment to 
meet a relative for the purpose of adjusting some 
little matter of business which had arose between 
them, and being detained until late in the afternoon, 
it was nearly dark when — after what became to me 
a very tiresome walk — we passed along the road 
which led by the Old Shanty on our homeward-bound 
journey. Owing to what had transpired in that 
locality on the previous Thursday night, I inadver- 
tantly turned my head and looked in that direction, 
but observed no change in the appearance of the 
building or its surroundings. 

Feeling weary on my return home, I reclined 
upon a lounge, which formed a part of the furniture 
of our sitting-room, and was resting in ease and 
comfort as the darkness came on. I had been en- 
joying this state of quietness and repose for something 
like an hour, when suddenly and simultaneously I 
heard several voices crying fire! fire! fire! 

At this moment, also, my mother came into the 



EARLY RECOLLECTIONS, VISIONS AND THOUGHTS. 39 

apartment where I was resting, and in a great flurry 
of excitement exclaimed: 

"Mareenus, the Old Shanty is all in flames." 

I at once arose to my feet, secured my coat and 
hat, and in a state of mental surprise and agitation, 
characteristic of a boy, ran up the road and climb- 
ing the hill, upon the side of which the building 
stood, watched the fiery flames for an hour or longer, 
with thirty or forty other persons who had gathered 
around the scene from different portions of the neigh- 
borhood, until nothing remained of the Old Shanty, 
save a quantity of ashes and a few dying embers. 

The opinion obtains in our day, more than in 
former times, that " ministering spirits," possessing 
ample ability, and in a manner which we cannot 
readily comprehend, are enabled to make known 
their presence, and demonstrate their kindly sympa- 
thy in human interest, by watching us in our trials 
and struggles for happiness and the maintainance 
of being, and by warding off many of the misfor- 
tunes which inevitably make their appearance, and 
are met with as stumbling blocks and hinderances to 
success in the journey of life. That there is abundant 
evidence of the truth of such a belief no one well 
acquainted with the " history of phenomena" can 
reasonably question.* 

The human mind naturally obtains and approp- 
riates that kind of information which it most desires 
and seeks. It was ever my inclination to rest a 

* The reader is referred to a work entitled the "Night Bide 
of Nature, 1 ' by Catherine Crow; and another, "Modern American 
Spiritualism, " by Emma Harding Brittan. 



40 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS, VISIONS AND THOUGHTS. 

hope, if not to yield absolute confidence to a belief 
in the reality of many fore warnings and the verifi- 
cation of them in subsequent circumstances and events. 
Thus the instance of the incendiary burning of the 
Old Shanty, as well as other methodically repre- 
sented incidents of a similar mysterious nature, which 
came under my personal observation in after years, 
or a knowledge of which was derived from historical 
date, only tended the more strongly to confirm my 
judgment in the truth and value of such a conviction. 
The human mind is naturally involved in super- 
stition, and hence inclined to a supercilious and will- 
ful rejection of such events and phenomenal evidences, 
as seem to partake of the marvelous or hold a place 
in the rank of so called "incrutable manifestations." 
The prejudices which we entertain, and which are 
built up under false schooling in the domestic circle 
and abroad in society, and which withall are coaxed 
and flattered by the Absaloms of creedal or theolog- 
ical interests, shut away all righteous freedom of 
thought from our desires, and subdue the intellect to 
a state of awe-stricken blindness and submission. To 
follow these prejudices, to cling to preconceived ideas 
and opinions, which have been fostered and fathered 
by the ignorant and designing through ages of time, 
is the fault of the world. The released understanding 
seeks no guards for the defense of long-cherished 
views. The privilege of a belief in what our fore- 
fathers taught, is not so acceptable as the same or 
similar knowledge received through the use of our 
own senses. The scepter which we hold in our own 
hands is better for our use than that which served a 



41 

patriarch or prophet of primitive generations. If we 
wish to control a horse or make him our servant, 
we hamper his power of resistance, and subdue his 
will to the purposes of our ambition. He never for- 
gets the training. 

Oh ! how mistaken are they who allow the chil- 
dren of their hearts to be subdued in intellect, or 
frustrated in that holy freedom of mind which ap- 
points and substantiates its own knowledge, and gua- 
rantees everlasting individual satisfaction in life. 

The mysterious incidents which announce them- 
selves as an evidence of fore-warning, or which seem 
to indicate impending danger to property or mortal 
life, are quite as common as the occurrance of circum- 
stances converging to such a necessity would seem 
to warrant. The lights seen in unoccupied houses; 
the shadowy forms which sometimes unexpectedly 
flit across our vision, and then as suddenly disappear; 
the unwelcome sound which surprises us just previous 
to the decease of some near and dear friend or rela- 
tive ; the moving of some article of furniture within 
our dwelling; the haunted chamber; the trailing 
of silk in the darkness, or the hollow guttural utter- 
ance issuing from some vacant room or darksome 
corner : all are but so many surprises, bespeaking the 
presence and nearness of unseen individual beings, 
who produce these various demonstrations, either for 
our special benefit in cases of sickness, sorrow and 
personal emergency, or as a reminder to prompt us 
to the performance of more worthy deeds in life, and 
to the exercise of executive reflection concerning 



42 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS, VISIONS AND THOUGHTS. 

matters which pertain to a super-mundane realm 
of realities, powers and personalities. 

The detestable habit which many people adopt 
through fear, favor or prejudice, of secreting the 
truth to accomodate some established and petted 
theory in ethics, art, science or philosophy, or of 
hiding the ever-forthcoming revelations of nature to 
serve some selfish purpose in finance or the devo- 
tional relationships of society, is privately as well as 
publicly mischievous and hurtful, and is a most un- 
manly subterfuge to use in the pursuit of intellectual 
occupations and desires. Men are not consistent who 
commit themselves to silence to accomodate a neigh- 
bor's self-conceived wisdom, or the still more domi- 
neering presumption of some whittled-out advocate 
of theological precepts. Mind, edged by the friction 
of experience, or corrected through the force of its 
own mistakes, follies and dependence in being, is in- 
deed saved in the temple of nature. Whereas advised 
goodness — like rain-drops upon the feathers of a bird — 
is happily received without injury, but its superficial 
influence is ever more engrossing to courtesy and 
the imagination than substantial in its tendency to 
promote the better interests of the soul. 



BOYHOOD DAYS. MENTAL INFLUENCES. NATURE. 43 



CHAPTEE III. 

BOYHOOD DAYS. MENTAL INFLUENCES. 
NATURE. 

It was my inclination in my boyish days to seek 
the solemn silence and retirement which were alone 
to be found in the dark and shadowy recesses of the 
woods, or in the more delightful places of repose 
beneath the green-clad trees of the open fields; and 
when I was obliged to attend school, which was 
generally adverse to my desire, it was my custom to 
remain in the company of my school-fellows only so 
long as they were quiet and free from those tanta- 
lizing and mischievous purposes which are so often 
the fault of the young, making them objectionable as 
companions, and frequently rendering manhood and 
womanhood in after time as unstable, as in all pos- 
sibility it is likely to become insecure and infelicitous. 

I only continued at school in all about five years, 
and while I was not altogether inapt in the pursuit 
of my studies, or neglectful of the many duties which 
were there imposed upon me, I still felt a great re- 
luctance to comply with the toilsome and tedious 
methods of mental dicipline, which in those days — 
some thirty years ago — it was the custom to impose 
upon the young student. . 



44 BOYHOOD DAYS. MENTAL INFLUENCES. NATURE. 

The old stone house where I attended school is 
no longer in existence, the materials of which it was 
composed having been conveyed away to make room 
for a more commodious structure. But the memories 
which still cling around that never-to-be-forgotten 
place of education, where the joys and cares of my 
early life were first made clearly manifest, are still 
as fresh as ever; and when I contemplate those 
long-departed days, and think of those with whom it 
was my pleasure then to associate, I am only caused 
to realize that gratefulness of heart which results 
from a recollection of the past, and those my play- 
mates, some of whom having attained maturer years, 
long since passed onward to the blessed realm of the 
spirit, or otherwise still remain to bless that "old 
acquaintance" in the life which is of the earth. 

During the years of childhood my mind gathered 
up a treasure of singular interior realizations. Dreams 
and visions of a peculiar character were imparted to 
my memory. Strange sensations, impulses and emo- 
tions were imposed upon me from some unknown 
source, and sometimes my thoughts seemed caught and 
carried along, or were held to some needful interest 
with unusual tenacity of purpose. Then again becom- 
ing released, I would feel comparatively easy and 
contented in spirit, being left wholly free to perform 
the monotonous drudgery of every day life without 
psychologic emotion or molestation. 

When we consider the great diversity of genius, 
of power, of purpose, represented in the characterist- 
ics of the human mind, we may not regard it, after 
all, as so very surprising that certain persons should 



BOYHOOD DAYS. MENTAL INFLUENCES. NATURE. 45 

at times give expression to more than ordinary intel- 
ligence, should possess wondrous discernment or mani- 
fest acute spontaneity in the exercise of mental gifts 
and privileges; for it is evident to every person 
of discretion that the phrenological faculties, or the 
various sections of thought and feeling in the brain, 
may be so acted upon and influenced ante-natally, 
educationally and psychologically, as to cause them 
to diverge from the course of orderly development 
or expression, and become the basis of some special 
or marvelous mental manifestation, as in the case 
of Cora Wilburn or young Safford, either of whom 
could solve the most difficult problems in mathemat- 
ical science with instantaneous and never-failing pre- 
cision.* Then again we have the case of Blind Tom, 
the remarkable musician, whose inordinate stupidity in 
other respects was ever quite as observable as his talent 
for the spontaneous execution of musical discords and 
consonance. These are instances of mental illumina- 
tion wherein certain faculties domineer to the abuse 
of harmony in the Henezuen elements of thought. 

The brain of man is a compound organic associa- 
tion of material particles, and from inherited or ex- 
traneous causes, is more likely to present a partial 
than a uniform development of its energies and ac- 
tivities. Hence, mind may rise to distinction as a 
result of the unfoldment of some special faculty, or 

*When the mind is thus peculiarly developed it is easily 
impressed in its strongest sense by unseen intelligent powers, 
and that without arousing any personal consciousness or realiza- 
tion of the influx of thought or intelligence with the individual 
who is the subject of such influence. 



46 BOYHOOD DAYS. MENTAL INFLUENCES. NATURE. 

receiving the impulse of evenness in its expansion, it 
may become attuned to the condition of the most 
perfect illumination in clairvoyance. 

Mind cannot be released from its association with 
brain substance during the life of the body, but in 
moments of slumber, when will is inactive, and the 
elements of thought are calm and undisturbed; then 
with the gentle touches of another's will and thoughts, 
whether the operator be a man or a spirit, there may 
be aroused within the thus reposing faculties the 
most beautiful and heavenly, or the most horrible 
and distressing dreams and visions. 

A spirit Brother, Sister, Father or Mother, float- 
ing in the currental streams of the atmosphere, far 
above our location upon the earth, may in their loving 
kindness look down upon us when we sink to rest 
at night, and approving of our lives, commend us to 
the delight of interior consciousness and a sight of 
scenes more joyous and grand than language is capa- 
ble of describing, or wishing to correct our faults 
they may play a tune of distress upon our mental 
faculties as easily as the pianist would execute a note 
of discord upon his instrument. 

In case of clairvoj^ant development the adjacent 
interblending hemispheres of thought are invariably 
in a uniform condition of unfoldment and activity, 
their combined elements being easily moved by psy- 
chologic processes as a result of their wondrous flexi- 
bility. The eyes in such case are easily closed at 
the option of a foreign will, and life, energy, reason 
and every sense of the soul is held in abeyance of a 
foreign control to conditions of vivaciousness or inac- 



BOYHOOD DAYS. MENTAL INFLUENCES. NATURE. 47 

tivity. While reposing in this interior state of peace 
and quietness, the mind receives new ideas and im- 
pressions, and the senses becoming singularly acute, 
are abnormally aroused to the experience of strange 
realizations. Visions as beautiful and perfect as ste- 
reoscopic pictures are imparted to and impressed 
upon its inner consciousness, while its reception of in- 
telligence from unseen sources becomes a matter 
of every day experience. 

Spiritual philosophy demonstrates what all history 
asserts and logical inference guarantees, that mind is 
acted upon, and is psychologically subject to the will- 
force of invisible, intelligent beings, who influence, 
move or animate its organic functions, alike to the 
surprise of the understanding, as to the advantage 
or disadvantage of human welfare. 

One of the most singular instances of spirit in- 
fluence and control on record is presented in the 
Eenezan epidemic, called the "Dancing mania of the 
middle ages," and which appeared at intervals during 
the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. At Aix-la- 
Ghappelle, the capital of a district in Ehinish-Prussia, 
during the summer months of the year thirteen hun- 
dred and seventy-four, there appeared assemblies 
of men and women upon the streets screaming and 
foaming like persons "possessed." The dancers losing 
a- control over their individual movements, went in- 
tu paroxisms of maniacal delight, and often into deli- 
rium of mind in their involuntary activity. They 
danced and they leaped, they yelled and hooted, 
wept and sung; until falling in extreme exhaustion 
they would groan and moan, as if in the agonies 



48 BOYHOOD DAYS. MENTAL INFLUENCES. NATURE. 

of death. Some tore their hair and mutilated their 
persons, while others dashed out their brains against 
solid walls in their psychologic madness. Men rushed 
from place to place with phrensy and evil visions 
haunted their minds. Troops of dancers wandered 
hither and thither followed by crowds of people, who 
taking the supposed infection poured out their impre- 
cations against the priests, even going so far as to 
take possession of their houses of worship, and driv- 
ing them through the streets in terror.* 

The excitement called the "Dancing Mania" was 
regarded as a contagious influence, but reason as based 
upon a knowledge of the psychologic laws which con- 
trol mind accepts no such conclusion, in view of the 
fact that mind alone was effected, and no disease 
accompanied its manifestations. 

The world will be made wiser when the laws 
governing the senses are better understood. When it is 
known that the "realms of the invisible" are peopled 
by a Liv-le-un host, who are able to wield a won- 
drous mental power over not only individuals, but 
whole communities of men, for a purpose wise or 
otherwise, it may be our joy, as well as our benefit, 
to accept a privilege in better consideration concern- 
ing those mysterious physical and mental manifesta- 
tions which have occurred in all ages, and which 
have proved to be as much a source of distress as 
of hope to the human heart in its search for a knowl- 
edge of immortal life. 

The Convulsionaries of France who appeared dur- 
ing the seventeenth century, afford another instance 
* Spirits in mockery of the world's theology. 



BOYHOOD DAYS. MENTAL INFLUENCES. NATURE. 49 

of the effect of those psychologic powers which the 
systematic logic of the harmonial philosophy alone 
enables us to explain, as having a substantial origin 
in the action of Spiiit will-force, as exercised in con- 
trol of the elements of the human mind. It is re- 
luted that this singular sect threw themselves into 
the most violent convulsions, rolled about upon the 
ground, imitated birds, beasts and fishes, and at last, 
when they had completely exhausted their vital pow- 
ers, went off in a swoon, becoming entranced and in- 
sensible. 

When men seek wisdom and find that felicity 
which is to be secured in freedom of thought and 
reasonable consideration; when domineering theology 
and its abettors no longer impose upon the good 
sense of mankind or the "immortals," who live in the 
enjoyment of the peaceful pleasures which are to be 
secured in that Mansion "not made with hands, which 
hangs suspended in the heavens:" then in justice to 
an awakened sense of human equality, of right and 
wrong, as practically exemplified in personal conduct 
and the governments of men, the loving children 
of the sky will release humanity from psychologic 
torments. 

Salem witchcraft was a punishment awarded to 
the "blue lights" of "high theology" from the Spirit 
sphere. Men went mad in derision of their own folly 
and self-conceit, and the "Hint" which they received 
from the Woteuri* reserve on the downy Marnoj 

* The place of legislation in the superior realm which is 
associated ^ith American interests. 

r An aereal sti-aium whtre spirits live in much happiness. 
C 



50 BOYHOOD DAYS. MENTAL INFLUENCES. NATURE. 

of the air, while it served as a check to religious in- 
tolerance, was lost in historic renown, and the Tal- 
avans of Sectarianism are still alive with their fiery 
Gehenna as needful to the correction of a wicked 
people's morals. 

Every age has had its mysterious movements. 
The swoomings and the jerkings, the dancings and 
the jumpings, are so many evidences of men's folly. 
When we are culpably ignorant of every law of life, 
following the superstitious imagery and teachings of 
artful and designing craftsmen, and ignoring the ad- 
vantages secured by freedom in educational training, 
we may expect to be wrought upon by every bug- 
bear of hallucination, and "the spirits of just men 
made perfect," may look down with indifference upon 
the Dewonvies* of the sub-stratums of the atmosphere, 
and smile in their wisdom, while 

The effects of psychology as practiced by them, 
Makes Jerry Madidlers and jerkers of men. 
It is high time that we had learned the won- 
drous lesson which has been given for our benefit in 
the manifestations of mind as developed through the 
influence of this most marvelous principle, or as made 
practicle for good or ill results in human life, through 
the designs of unseen, intelligent beings, our own 
kith and kind, perhaps, of the spirit world. For cen- 
turies mankind have contended over theological priv- 
ileges, rites and ceremonies, and contemning every 
precept of wisdom as derived from the study of mental 

* Those who have permanent guardian cares, and who in- 
fluence—not necessarily always in wisdom — earthly friends by 
mental methods. 



BOYHOOD DAYS. MENTAL INFLUENCES. NATURE. 51 

science, they have wandered in the delightful labyrinths 
of the imagination, and following the Ignis fatui of 
fancy, they have become mystified and confused in 
understanding, or lost to individual advancement and 
progress as a result of their adherence to the delu- 
sions of sectarian cliques and clans. 

Nature, the source and support of life, the basis 
of all law, the only thing which is, and which fills 
all time and space, is neglected in our contemplations, 
and forgotten in our acceptance of insecure specula- 
tions and theories. The edicts of the Divine Spirit, 
as registered in the "book of creation," and the many 
lessons of wisdom so generously offered in its pages 
are lost sight of, and the happiness which we other- 
wise might enjoy is infringed upon by the absolutism 
and bigotry thus engendered. 

Nature gave life to man; gave all that man en- 
joys; gave law, consciousness, power, privilege, circum- 
stance and immortality. The eye sees nature by 
natural means. The ear hears as a result of the 
vibratory action of atmospheric elements upon the 
tympanum and its nerve connections. Mind may 
with propriety be regarded as a contemplative mirror 
wherein is reflected the diversified objects and images 
abounding in creation. Nature is ever free in her 
gift of evidence, impartial in her bestowment of use- 
ful lessons of instruction, and cancels no righteous 
claim to liberty. Theology, on the contrary, hampers 
our opinions, confines our thoughts and actions to 
the limit of a "select purpose," and to "formal ceremo- 
nies, holds the mind to a "selfish hope" through a 
love for "exclusive association," and banishes a gen- 



52 BOYHOOD DAYS. MENTAL INFLUENCES. NATURE. 

erous purpose in the exercise of a noble sympathy 
for humanity, by cramping and restricting our views 
and sentiments. 

Nature is the pride of every roving school child, 
and guarantees satisfaction to all. In the examination 
of her flowers, trees, fruits, and diversified forms, they 
find happiness and learn wisdom. Not so with the 
sectarian teachings of men. Nay, mind is belittled by 
exclusiveness and bigotry, and the clearer perceptions 
of the intellect are greatly befogged through a mani- 
festation of selfishness in the selection and adoption 
of religious opinions. Nature is a freedom in the 
most singular extremes. vShe bestows upon the negro 
a colored skin, crisped hair, a flat nose, and a flatter 
foot. Upon the white man she confers a more slen- 
der form, with features of happier mould, and a skin 
of ample whiteness. To the Patagonian giant she 
imparts a wondrous physical power. To the Aztec, 
a body of weak and delicate proportions. 

Nature is a joy to every human soul. Is a suc- 
cess to those who read her lessons aright and com- 
prehend their meaning. She has given to man the 
highest worldly position and power; to the angels 
of the spirit Paradi, the most unmeasured wisdom. 
Her ways are mostly reliable and secure. Under her 
guidance the populations of the earth find their varied 
geographical locations, while through her decision 
the heights of the surrounding atmosphere, above 
each terrestrial nation, becomes the dwelling place 
of the Livle of our planets production — men and 
women born to immortality, and who once lived and 
enjoyed that condition which we } their terrestrial 



BOYHOOD DAYS. MENTAL INFLUENCES. NATURE. 53 

successors, have also received as our inheritance, 
and which in time must, as well with us, eventuate 
in our release from all mortal relationships, trials and 
difficulties. Standing amid the flowing elements which 
trace their course around the outskirts of the aereal 
ocean far beyond the clouds, the time-appointed child- 
ren of men send their thoughts to the four winds 
of heaven, and to the four corners of the globe which 
revolves beneath their feet, and all through an under- 
standing of the principles of mind, and the means 
of controlling it which is accorded to their intelli- 
gence. Men are made to psychologically dance and 
sing, weep and mourn, shake like the Quakers, ramble 
in prayers and swoon in religious supplication, all at 
the instigation of a wisdom or design wholly hidden 
and inscrutable. 

Many christian people imagine that spirits are at 
once made perfect when released from mortal ccnfine- 
ment. That death cures our folly, makes us happy, 
peaceful, quiet, loving, kind 3 generous and just. 
This is not nature's excellence, it is not her decision; 
for she rides the tempest in abusive commotion, and 
garners her peace amid the changes of creation. She 
overshadows the earth with darkness, yet concedes a 
joyous privilege in varied realizations to all life, during 
the delightful hours of the open clay. 

Xature is an equilibrium bounded by two ex- 
tremes. She organizes innumerable forms from her 
store of chemical elements, and secures their dissolu- 
tion through the G-arnee of death and decay. Our 
truest happiness is alone secured through obedience 
to truth, while misery is prompted and mingles its 



54 BOYHOOD DAYS. MENTAL INFLUENCES. NATURE. 

mischief and abuse in self-corrective doses to suit the 
patrons of folly, and those who refuse a joy in life's 
"better way." 

The culprit carries the characteristics of his 
earthly condition with him to the Perfiresta of the 
future life, where he lives to subdue the personal 
faults and imperfections which pertain to his being. 
Mind is not responsible for its defects, no more than 
is the physical body for its oft mis-shapen mould. 
We cannot avoid the inheritance of vice, neither the 
love of aspiration. The intellect is never perfect, but 
is always in desire to improve. Our intelligence in- 
creases, but by slow degrees. We gather wisdom as 
the little bee gathers the honey from the flowers. It 
has to go into many dark places, escape many nar- 
row chances of life, and select its food from many 
objectionable plants ; still, it never tires, is ever ear- 
nest, dilligent and dutiful, wandering hither and 
thither to accomplish the purposes of its existence, 
or to serve the demands of its being. 

So with the human mind: slowly but surely it 
accomplishes its purpose, or attains the object held in 
its desire. By continuous thought upon any subject 
the intellect becomes enlarged and expanded. When 
a person yearns to understand those things which 
pertain to the exalted life of the future, and the de- 
sire thus entertained is prompted by a worthy mo- 
tive, it is almost certain that its proper and legitimate 
gratification will ultimately follow. 



A VIVID DREAM. 55 



CHAPTER IV. 

A VIVID DREAM. HOME CONVERSATIONS. 

GINGER -BREAD VISIONS. A FATHER'S 

COUNSEL. 

The knowledge which I possessed of the nature 
or philosophy of the human mind at the period to 
which I have hereinbefore referred, was very limited, 
and the "duplex visions," "aereal flights" and singular 
dreams which I then frequently received were to my 
understanding equally a source of wonder and sur- 
prise, and as a result of the indifference of others in 
regard to a relation of the details of such experience, and 
the many pooh-poohs which were uttered upon the sug- 
gestion of the probability of spirit influence in their 
production, I seldom considered it discreet or advic- 
able to speak of them. Hence they were safely 
treasured in the quiet recesses of my memory to be 
more particularly regarded in after years, or partially 
forgotten, as a result of personal unconcernedness or 
close attention to business occupations. 

When I was in my twenty-fourth year of age, 
and upon an occasion when not in the least anti- 
cipated, it being in the early twilight of the morning, 



56 A VIVID DREAM. 

I became suddenly and deeply entranced, as a result 
of the action of some foreign influence upon my men- 
tal faculties while yet I was reposing in quiet and 
unconscious slumber. I had been dreaming, and my 
vision was carried to many scenes of beauty and 
interest I wandered beside the gently flowing waters 
of a forest enfolded stream, where the genial warmth 
of a tropical sun had induced nature to clothe many of 
her diversified forms with perpetual green. Along its- 
banks grew the most attractive variety of fragrant 
flowers. The bending trees hung in quietness above 
the placid surface of the brook, casting their broad 
limbs and leaf-covered branches in deep and accurate 
reflection below. 

As I was contemplating my situation, or gazing 
in admiration upon the splendor of the scene which 
surrounded me, I all at once heard a low, moaning 
sound in the distance, which seemed to proceed from 
some one who was in the fullest grief of heart, and 
who was endeavoring to give expression to the deep 
sense of sorrow which was experienced. Turning 
about in the direction of the sound which I had 
heard, and observing a narrow pathway leading 
through the thicket, I at once sought refuge behind 
a large oak tree, which secreted me from obser- 
vation while I listened to the sad, discomforting 
words, which were uttered by some one who seemed 
to be gradually approaching my location. 

I had not long remained in watchful and secret 
observation in the quiet and secluded place which I had 
chosen for my retreat, when looking in the direction 
from whence the pathway issued, I saw two persons 



A VIVID DREAM. 57 

walking slowly toward me. I gazed attentively at 
them as they neared my position, and was equally 
surprised and astonished to behold a colored man 
and woman seeking the sources of peace and freedom 
as fugitives in the unseen retirement of the woods. 
Not far from the embowered spot where I was con- 
fined, and just beside the trodden path which they 
were following, lay a large fallen tree. Approaching 
this, and seating themselves upon its body, the wo- 
man, while yet in seeming anguish of heart, broke 
forth in a lay of melodies sadly chosen in explana- 
tion of her trials, sufferings and prospective separa- 
tion from a companion selected in the love and sym- 
pathy of her soul. The tawny negro by her side 
was the hope of her life, but the misfortune of being 
parted from him was now apparently eminent. A 
slave mart was her distress. The bloodhounds were 
on his track. As he sat by her side in that lonely 
place in the forest with depressed and drooping spi- 
rits, yet with a will to avoid his relentless pursuers, 
he looked backward in the direction from which he 
had come, and with a look of defiance very sternly 
remarked : 

"I will evade them along the shaae." 
When taking her by the hand and pressing it in 
his own, as he arose to make his escape, directing 
his course toward the brook which he had named, 
he broke forth in low and solemn, yet happy accents 
of vocalization, selecting the beautiful air of "The 
Watcher" to give expression to his sense of suffering 
and his affection for the wife of his choice in song. 
*As I stood surprised and almost transfixed, in the 



58 A VIVID DREAM. 

stillness and silence of the peaceful ambuscade which 
I had selected as a place of safety and observation, 
I could hear the final notes of music as they floated 
on the air, and were lost in suppressed echos among 
the hills and valleys along the uneven pathway 
which he was pursuing. The last sound of his voice 
conveyed to my ear these words: 

"We'll part no more, dear Mena, 
Upon this earthly shore." 

Peeling interested in the music thus heard, I 
continued to listen for some time, thinking that per- 
haps I might hear something further or see some- 
thing more to awaken my attention or arouse my 
curiosity, when all at once I seemed to be released 
from the entranced condition in which I had beheld 
the vision, and looking about, as my normal con- 
sciousness became partially restored, I observed that 
I had risen while in sleep, and in semi-deshabille was 
penning the words of the song which I had heard. 

I sat upon the edge of the bed which I occupied 
and was earnestly engaged with my pencil writing, 
upon a stand which stood at its head, the two con- 
cluding lines of the sentimental ballad which was 
sung by the flying fugitive, when I awoke. As my 
outward memory became fully aroused, and I began 
to realize my situation, my wife who had been dis- 
turbed in her slumbers by my movements and unea- 
siness, suddenly ejaculated: 

" What in the world are you about ? It's not 
time to rise. Why, you've been acting like a witch 
for an hour." 



HOME CONVERSATIONS. 59 

Feeling somewhat mortified over my own con- 
dition of mind, yet experiencing a sense of pleasure, 
as a result of my somnambulic realizations, I very 
indifferently replied : 

" I hardly know myself what 1 am about. I only 
know that I was dreaming and listening to vocal 
music, and as I awoke, I discovered myself seated 
here by the stand writing the lines of poetry which 
I heard sung." 

" That's very singular," she remarked, "perhaps 
you'd better lay down and rest again, as you've been 
so much disturbed." 

"Oh, no," said I, "the twilight of the morning 
begins to light up the eastern sky, and as I feel that 
I could get no sleep after so impressive a dream as 
that which I have just awoke from, I guess I'll clothe 
myself and prepare for the duties of the day." 

Making my actions accord with my words, I at 
once dressed myself, and leaving the room, went 
down stairs, took some pails from the pantry, and 
went out to milk in a little yard nearby. My mind 
was not at rest. I kept busy attending to the var- 
ious chores which were assigned to my care, and 
which are ever a part of the labor of farm-life; still 
I could not refrain from reflection concerning the 
mysterious amplifications of thought, and the strange, 
yet definite scenes which were forever arising in my 
mind during the quiet hours of sleep. Many times I 
would find myself in conversation with entire stran- 
gers, living in the woods, among the hills and val- 
leys, then again in the palaces of the rich, with a 
heart as full and free as if no care ever overshad- 



60 HOME CONVERSATIONS. 

owed the human heart. Sometimes sorrow would 
clothe my night-wanderings with her mantle of dis- 
tress, and I would awake from my slumbers in a 
flood of tears. 

"What," said I, "has mind the capacity to rob 
itself of joy? Wherefore are the mental faculties 
moved to activity in a consciousness wholly abnor- 
mal, yet which in many particulars has every sense 
characteristic of outward realizations. " 

"Can mind run away with itself," I mentally in- 
quired, "and get into all sorts of jumbles, difficulties, 
joys, happinesses and fructification of its own ideas. 
Some people think that dreams are of no account. 
I wonder who ever heard of a railroad train running 
from place to place without the directing care of an 
engineer. Is mind self-poised? Is it organically 
formed? Yes, thought I, it cannot be otherwise, 
if it is a Counterpart of the natural brain and the 
nerves of sensation." 

Thus I continued to reason with myself as I 
labored betimes milking the cows, feeding the horses 
and pigs, and aiding my mother in the performance 
of some little duties about the house. 

As the members of our family were seated at 
breakfast that morning, I took occasion to refer to 
the remarkable dream which I had experienced, and 
as I did so, I very frankly remarked : 

"I wonder why it is that I am forever overdone 
in dreaming. Hardly a night passes that I do not 
realize pain or pleasure as a result of the abnormal 
activity of my mental faculties. What do you think, 
mother, is the cause of my thoughts being so rest- 



GINGER-BREAD VISIONS. 61 

less when I sleep. I confess my inability to fathom 
the mystery." 

Looking over her spectacles with a somewhat 
suggestive smile she unhesitatingly replied: 

'•That ginger-bread you eat so much of yester- 
day must have been the cause." 

I could not refrain from a hearty laugh at this 
easy method of solving a highly metaphysical pro- 
blem. It was my satisfaction however to see that 
while the facetious explanation thus given was alto- 
gether insufficient to account for my mental exper- 
ience, that my own more serious reflections were 
quite as inadequate to establish the cause of the 
mental phenomena in question; hence I very deliber- 
ately answered: 

"I am not satisfied with this oft-repeated inter- 
pretation of a subject which is really worthy of more 
serious thought. It is easy to say: "We will occupy 
a house," but it is not so easy to build a house to 
occupy, as this requires labor, capital and mechanical 
skill. Thus it is with the demonstration of all ideas, 
opinions and truth. We shy the logic of necessity to 
accommodate the idealisms of the imagination. We 
are but vague, indolent and listless reasoners, seeking 
conclusions in assumption rather than toil for credible 
knowledge in manly effort." 

"The human mind," continued I, "in my judg- 
ment, is a mechanism of ethereal elements so nicely 
attuned to harmony in organic association, that like 
the notes of a musical instrument they may be moved 
to the expression of every emotion, and the actualiza- 
tion of every sense during the hours of slumber. 



62 a father's counsel. 

It is evident that mind cannot and would not 
instigate a punishment against itself, neither impov- 
erish pleasures, interest itself in observation or assume 
moods of reflection, when normal consciousness is 
obtuse to the power of personal recognition, as when 
the soul rests in sleep. We must therefore conclude 
that the action of the "cogitative elements of mind" 
during such periods, is surely the result of an opera- 
tive mesmeric force proceeding from some unseen 
intelligence, alike endowed with reason, calculation, 
and the several faculties which amplify ideas, and 
qualify the understanding in a knowledge of the 
method of inducing by psychologic processes — sensa- 
tive thought, memory, hearing, seeing, tasting or eat- 
ing — which is common in dreams — and smelling, to- 
gether with the irregular and forced action of all the 
characteristic functions of the soul or spirit. 

"It would be unwise" said I, in conclusion, "to 
adopt the opinion that dreams are merely the result 
of the self-appointed movements of mind unaided by 
will or consciousness — two of its most important prin- 
ciples. Yet it is very easy to perceive that when 
these two functions are at rest, the balance of the 
mind's powers may be subjected to the influence of a 
foreign will and gently controlled to the production 
of dreams, visions, and all the multiplied phenomena 
peculiar to the state of sleep, somnambulism and 
trance." 

My Father, who was seated by my side, and who 
was ever interested in considerations which pertained 
to subjects of a metaphysical nature, having now 



A father's counsel. 63 

finished his morning meal, leaned back in his chair 
and very advisingly remarked : 

"Marcenus, it is well enough to reflect upon 
these subjects now and then, but I fear you are 
given to a too earnest thought in seeking to unravel 
the mysteries of mind in its various moods and 
states. I have reflected for years concerning my 
own experience as a somnambulist in my younger 
days, but I cannot say that I have arrived at any- 
thing like a definite understanding in regard to the 
cause or causes which converged to its production, 
and I am quite well satisfied that while it may be 
possible to explain the evidences of mental phenomena, 
the basic law of soul-life is so deeply laid in mystery 
that the difficulty of securing a knowledge of its 
origin and more hidden manifestations must ever ne- 
cessitate its remaining a "hobby" for the disputation 
of religionists, thinkers and metaphysicians." 

"When I was a young man," he continued, "it 
was a circumstance of almost nightly occurrence with 
me to rise in my sleep and wander about in my 
Father's house. I would unconsciously leave my bed 
and without clothing upon my person seek the com- 
fort of a large open fire-place in the old log dwelling 
in which we lived. Upon hearing the noise of my 
oft misdirected footsteps, or observing me through 
the darkness, some member of our family would wake 
me from my entranced condition of mind, and I 
would again return to my bed. During the hours 
of my sleep-walking I was usually impressed with 
the idea of driving horses and cattle, or of being out 
in the woods without any substantial object, of aid- 



64 a father's counsel. 

ing my Father in farming, and of having many fan- 
ciful duties to perform which were at times seemingly 
entertaining and agreeable. To you it may seem 
desirable to traverse the realms of fancy in pursuit 
of the wondrous phenomena of mind, but as you 
advance in years I think you will see — what I think 
I realize — that the object of your search and anxiety 
is altogether unattainable." 

My Mother, who was ever ready to invent a 
motive for the opinions expressed in home discourse, 
now looked up very significantly and directing her 
remarks to me, said: 

"How long, Marcenus, are you and Father going 
to converse about spooks and dreams. You'll never 
agree on the subject if you continue talking till 
dooms-day." 

"Well, Mother," I answered, "I am ready to 
quit at any time. It is true I differ with Father in 
my conclusions in regard to the cause of dreaming, 
and the ability of the mental faculties to reach an 
understanding thereof; but I guess our difference of 
views will never lead to any serious rupture of good 
feeling; indeed I rather prefer to listen to his objec- 
tions to my theories and speculations than otherwise." 

Thus, in good nature, our conversation ended as 
we finished our mornings repast, and I arose from 
my seat and went out into the field to labor that 
day with much joy, and many new and acceptable 
ideas concerning the philosophy of dreams as a subject 
wholly given to the mind in mystery. 



REFLECTIONS. 65 



CHAPTEE V. 



REFLECTIONS. THE ANCIENT PROPHETS. 

SWEDENBORG AND ANDREW JACKSON 

DAVIS. 



Nearly every heart that beats in a mortal bosom 
longs for the continuation of life after death. The 
soul seeks happiness in a reverence for the unseen 
and the eternal. In the absence of reliable knowl- 
edge concerning the future destiny of the Spirit, men 
and nations have assumed fictitious garments of be- 
lief, and have selfishly ignored the commendable les- 
sons which inevitably flow from "wise consideration" 
and liberality of thought. 

When I was a boy, I wondered why it was that 
people differed so widely in their opinions upon relig- 
ious subjects. In considering the state of society and 
the influence of ecclesiastical bodies over communities, 
I was invariably more puzzled and perplexed, than 
animated by a feeling of satisfaction, in view of their 



66 .REFLECTIONS. 

variable teachings and anomalous characteristics. It 
was the custom then as now for most persons to at- 
tend church upon the Sabbath day, and as my Father 
was a clergyman, his family was necessarily under 
obligation to follow his good counsel in that respect; 
bat still to my mind it was a singular manifestation 
of human short-sightedness, if nothing worse, for 
those who sought to worship the Divine Mind, or 
grasp a comprehensive conception of angelic life, to 
go selfishly here and selfishly there, in little cliques 
and diminutive societies to establish and enjoy their 
conflicting convictions. 

Men are lacking in a knowledge of the truth, 
thought I, as I grew older, for when I see them 
worshiping Deity in an hundred ways, and contend- 
ing over the propriety of their forms and ceremonies, 
their various tenets of faith, and the ideas and sen- 
timents which they entertain and cherish, I am satis- 
fied that their differences are not authorized by the 
wisdom of the Infinite Mind, but are rather the result 
of a too exuberant hope, a slavish obstinacy in the 
satisfaction of misconceived opinions, or of unreason- 
ing confidence in the teachings of mistaken, yet 
studied ministers of religion. 

I could see no value in a system of thought or 
morality which accommodated the rich, while the 
poor and less intelligent were almost wholly neglected 
or confined during worship to the uncushioned pews 
in the rear of the synagogue. I heard the Baptists 
deriding the views of the Methodists ; the Presbyter- 
ians quarreling with the Universalists and Unitarians, 
while the whole Protestant world were malining the 



REFLECTIONS. 67 

character and deriding the religious precepts of the 
Catholic Hierarchy. New religions and new forms 
of worship were constantly appearing to put the final 
finish upon supposed ultimate truth. The nimble 
shakers danced and shook while the shameless mor- 
mons foresook the most vital law of nature and 
social life. Looking beyond my native land, I ob- 
served the savage and the heathen, thrice more 
numerous than the christian, adopting other and 
variable methods of satisfying their veneration for the 
Omnipotent Being and the spirits of the departed. 

As I contemplated the lesson thus awarded to 
my preceptions ; as I looked upon the conflict of hu- 
man sentiment which sought refuge in a thousand 
methods of expression, and which no mortal could 
harmonize or correct, my heart was oppressed with 
sadness, and I prayed for a truthful understanding 
of nature's intention in the production and gift 
of life. 

Plodding on in the pathway of distrustful hope, 
despairing of any success in the attainment of my 
desires, I sought consolation in the study of the 
characteristics of the human mind. I knew that I 
was born a somnambule, that my Father and only 
Brother were night-walkers, often rising from their 
slumbers to accomplish the fanciful purposes conceived 
of in dreams. 

In looking over the pages of history I discovered 
that a number of persons in past ages had claimed 
to hold intercourse with beings of another world, 
and had actually given some remarkable demonstra- 
tions of its truth, that is, providing the records con- 



68 THE ANCIENT PROPHETS. 

taining the statements and particulars in regard to 
them and the evidence which they presented were in 
any measure to be relied upon. 

The scriptures, I remarked, were replete with 
strong passages bearing directly upon this hidden and 
difficult subject. Daniel, the magian, sage and phi- 
losopher, gave abundant proof of his ability to com- 
mune with the angel world, when through " fasting 
and prayer" he became mentally entranced, or passed 
into the "deep sleep" of clairvoyance, which seems 
to have been very frequent during the entire period 
of his earthly life. 

Jacob and Ezekiel both enjoyed visions and spoke 
with immortal beings, while Christ and St. John the 
Revelator, endowed with more exalted knowledge, 
amplified interior thought and observation, taught the 
existence of spirits and angels, and referred to heaven 
as the future home of the righteous upon earth. 

Investigating still further the many claims made 
to a freedom and familiarity in communion with the 
beings of super-terrestrial spheres, I found that 
Emanuel Swedenborg, the seer of Stockholm, had 
presented more details concerning the future life, and 
had held the lamp of mental illumination higher in 
treating of the subject of the abode of spirits, their 
characteristics and condition, than all the soothsayers, 
prophets, sages and thinkers of antecedent generations. 

I was more pleased, however, with the attested 
facts proclaimed in the writings of Swedenborg 
bearing upon his individual experience, than in the 
multiform theories and speculations which, in the 
deepest ambiguity of thought, he sought to establish. 



SWEDENBORG AND ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS. 69 

While I could neither perceive the value nor under- 
stand the application of his interminable exegesis of 
scriptural texts to the wants of the religious world, 
I was quite well satisfied through a comparison of 
certain stated facts concerning his intercourse with 
spirits and the visions which he enjoyed, with the 
similar realizations of others, that the demonstration 
of the existence of invisible beings, and their near 
relation to us, was perfect and indisputable. 

In view of the many claims thus recognized and 
acknowledged to a privilege so rare and wondrous as 
that of speaking with the dead, and the ample testi- 
mony which history furnished in their confirmation, 
1 began to feel somewhat more easy in my mind in 
regard to the safety of the spirit after its separation 
from the physical form. 

The death of my only Brother, which took place 
when I was in my thirteenth year of age, had greatly 
stimulated my desire to fathom, if possible, the state 
of existence which in unseen silence he had inherited. 
I ffelt that he wa9 ever near, yet I could not readily 
account for many of the impulses, emotions and feel- 
ings, which from time to time completely over- 
shadowed my being. I had, however, adopted the 
opinion that the elements of thought — mind substanti- 
ating itself through organic centralization — were 
either fundamentally insecure in their appointed mo- 
tions , seeking actively in .the absence of personal 
consciousness, as when sleep holds the faculties in 
forgetfulness of life, pushing their sense of power into 
mutiny of manifest action, so to speak, or otherwise 
in the calmness and tranquility which characterized 



70 SWEDENBORG AND ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS. 

their condition during slumber, or in moments of 
peaceful reflection in wakeful hours they were gently 
influenced by psychologic will-force as supported in 
the discretion of "ministering spirits." 

I was more fully confirmed in this opinion from 
reading a series of articles which appeared in some 
of the New York papers at the time of the intro- 
duction of Andrew Jackson Davis, the seer of Pough- 
keepsie, to public notariety as a subject of mesmerism 
and mental illumination. Mr. Davis was looked upon 
as the wonder of the world. His delivery of the 
articles contained in Nature's Divine Eevelations 
attracted universal attention and called out the sol- 
dierly comments of the religious and secular press 
of the country. » 

Although I was quite young at the time, I dis- 
tinctly remember that my impressions were emphat- 
ically — as in the case of Swedenborg — more given to 
an interest in the experience of Mr. Davis as a sub- 
ject of clairvoyance than to the philosophical exposi- 
tion of "nature and her laws" which he presented 
in words more superabundant than prudent. 

The phenomena of mind represented in his case 
greatly interested my thoughts. As I reflected con- 
cerning the peculiar power of wisdom which he man- 
ifested in his extemporaneous delivery of words and 
sentences without limit — he being at the time a boy 
only seventeen years old — I concluded that the human 
intellect was, indeed a mystery ; but in view of his 
daily transition from external consciousness to psy- 
chologic slumber, and the masterly increase of knowl- 
edge which he evinced while in that condition, I 



SWEDENBORG AND ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS. 71 

conceived a satisfaction in thinking that the mystery 
of mind was not so great after all as to enable it to 
reach the fathomless depths of time and space, and 
to comprehend the mission of a universe, without a 
basis in the intelligence of superior mind. Andrew 
Jackson Davis was looked upon as a prodigy, his 
revelations as something marvelous. But how did he 
obtain the intelligence which he displayed? He could 
not make a disclosure of exalted knowledge without 
a source from which to obtain it. It was imparted 
to or became immerced in his thoughts and he gave 
oral expression to it while entranced and wholly 
unconscious. 

Some said it was derived from other minds 
through contact and the law of sympathy. Others 
assumed that it was appropriated from the books 
of wise authors by some process of transmission not 
yet understood, while the seer himself affirmed that 
it was derived from a "great sphere of light " which 
contained "all conceivable knowledge, " and which 
could be reached only in the most elevated state 
of clairvoyant illumination. 

Amid the conflicting statements, theories and 
opinions, which were advanced by philosophers, 
logicians and writers, I came well nigh having no 
sentiment or idea of my own in regard to the matter, 
but of two things I was quite certain ; first, that 
of those who assumed to know the most, and to be 
the readiest to render their explanations, there was 
generally the least substantial information to be gained. 
While as to the existence of the phenomena and the 
disclosures which were being made, I could only 



72 SWEDENBORG AND ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS. 

arrive at one conclusion, that of the agency of dis- 
embodied mind in their production and presentation. 

Mr. Davis had given to the world a volume 
of thought which was not his own. He was a boy 
in intellect, inexperienced and unschooled. His mind 
could not make knowledge, but it could receive and 
give expression to it. From whence did it originate? 
Who was the responsible authority in its production? 
Was it a quality of knowledge to float about in un- 
seen and promiscuous quantities to be absorbed by 
the sleeping intellect of an untaught youth? Letters 
are usually obtained through dint of study and mental 
effort, and the profound logician is expected to be a man 
of learning. Not so with Mr. Davis, for he could 
scarcely read or write; yet in his wondrous ability 
as the subject of somnambulic sleep he was both 
wordy and wise. 

Wherefore, thought I, should Mr. Davis be 
extolled as the "great author," the "wondrous seer, " 
and "profound philosopher, " when in his ordinary 
condition he presents no evidence of superior percep- 
tion, mental attainment or sagacity. There is a secret 
involved in this permission of mind to receive intelli- 
gence from invisible sources. There are aids in Nature 
which are ours when circumstances, well appointed, 
prompt their actualization in human interest. This 
influx of ideas into the understanding is the work 
of unseen immortal beings, and in their love for 
humankind they have chosen another Lazarus upon 
whom to confer their woes. 

The mystery which attaches to all, so called, 
"supernatural manifestations," is evidently but a veil 



SWEDENBORG AND ANDREW JACKSON DAVIS. 73 

of artful maneuverings employed — perhaps wisely — by 
the " invisibles" to daunt our efforts, or hide from 
our grasp that understanding which we all yearn to 
possess concerning "spiritual things." 

The law of mystery is inseparably connected with 
all developments of a trans-mundane character, as 
well as all phenomenal representations of mental 
power. The appearance of apparitions, of ghosts and 
hobgoblins is ever appointed at an unexpected mo- 
ment, and their withdrawal from human observation 
is equally as unlooked for and surprising. In all this 
there is more evidence of the presence, devise and 
consideration of invisible intelligences, than of willing- 
ness on their part to concede a familiarity to man, 
in an acquaintance with them, and their hidden con- 
dition of existence. 

From reading and reflection I had now decided in 
my own mind the question of the truth of the immortal- 
ity of the human soul. The testimony in favor of such a 
conclusion was overwhelming and incontrovertible. But 
where the disembodied spirit lived, how or why, were 
interrogatories as yet not fully settled to the entire 
satisfaction of my naturally doubting mind. The 
seers and prophets of all ages had, it r is true, inti- 
mated something in regard to the realities of another 
world, of a 'heavenly sphere," of a "grand utopia" where 
life was supposed to be forever rendered secure and 
perfect. But still the amount of direct evidence was 
insufficient to establish anything like a clear and 
definite revelation, concerning the nature of the soul 
or the location of its place of abode in the future. 
For weeks, months and years I deliberated upon 



74 THE PHENOMENA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

this and kindred subjects, feeling no impulse at any- 
time to relinquish the more gratifying views of my 
own adoption; still, in realizing the fact that it was 
nearly, if not altogether impossible to solve the 
problem of the "destiny of the spirit 5 ' or to discover 
its place of abode, I was not wholly given to despair, 
although my heart went out in sadness, and I yearned 
through hope alone, for a better understanding of the 
objects and design of the Great Divine Author in the 
production and development of life. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE PHENOMENA OF SPIKITUALISM. THE 
FOX FAMILY. A MOTHEK'S ADVICE. 



The "spirit rappings" which had now made 
something of a reputation as a "wondrous pheno- 
mena" or "marvelous mystery," began to be consi- 
dered by the press and in private circles in society, 
and were the theme of doubt, distrust, malignity and 
abuse on the one hand, while on the other a more 
generous, consistent and manly sentiment prevailed. 



THE PHENOMENA OF SPIRITUALISM. 75 

The Fox Family resided in the City of Koches- 
ter, New York, at the time to which I allude, and 
hundreds and thousands of people from all parts 
of the country were constantly arriving at their 
residence, there to hold communion with departed 
loved ones in the confidence of the heart, desiring to 
investigate the phenomena of spiritualism through 
motives founded in the deepest skepticism in regard 
to the future existence of the soul, or out of a pure 
intellectual ambition to solve a proposition in pneu- 
matology, which was confounding the wisest savants 
and hetcheling theology out of its self-complacent 
languor. 

The spirits were reported as being able to com- 
municate words and sentences by means of the 
alphabet, and short messages were said to be thus 
frequently transmitted to inquiring earthly friends 
and relatives of the departed. They were able to 
rap in public halls, in strange houses, upon street 
pavements and in other places, and when subjected 
to the questionings of a committee of ladies which 
was chosen for that purpose, there was no lack 
of sounds, notwithstanding the insulation of the media 
by means of glass tumblers, and their denudation in 
a room without fixtures or furniture which could in 
any way supply means for the practice of deception. 

The singularity of the manifestations and the 
strange character which they presented had now 
become the subject of general remark, if not of un- 
happy comment, among not only the people who 
resided in the immediate vicinity of Eochester, but 
likewise with those living in all parts of the country, 



76 THE PHENOMENA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

who were curious for various reasons to listen to the 
rappings, or gain access to a knowledge of the new 
and so called "unaccountable developments" which, 
if true, it was conceded, were the greatest blessing 
ever offered to appease the incredulity of the mind 
of man, or secure the happiness of the human heart, 
while, if not true, they were certainly to be regarded 
as the most wretched mockery of lies, tricks and 
deceitful pettifogging ever conceived of in the inter- 
est of a most profound and serious subject. 

Of course, without investigation I could form no 
fixed or final opinion of my own in regard to the 
matter, although I was not inclined to differ much 
with those who averred in confidence, or who declared 
in personal honor and sincerity their belief in the 
spiritual origin of the sounds, and who assumed that 
communion with another world was by this method 
not only already realized, but likely in time to be 
irrevocably established. Indeed, I held no settled 
convictions upon the subject of the "mysterious 
noises," but rather hoped that they were the result 
of "wise design" on the part of the ''immortals," our 
own departed kindred, loving friends and relatives, 
who were happier to grant us a knowledge — even 
though meager in extent — of the condition of exist- 
ence which it was theirs to inherit and enjoy. 

Popular prejudice held no control over my mind, 
and I felt no inclination to deride a system of phe- 
nomenal representations which I could so deeply 
cherish, if true, neither had I any desire to misre- 
present — as many seemed to have — the goodness, 
generosity, native talent, disposition or characteristics 



THE PHENOMENA OF SPIRITUALISM. 77 

of the members of the family who seemed to be the 
specially chosen vehicle of their production. Although 
many of my neighbors and friends habitually laughed 
and sneered whenever the "mysterious noises" were 
referred to in conversation, or when the Fox Family 
were spoken of as instruments of use and power in 
Spirit hands, I could not myself see the propriety 
of their disdainful animadversions, and unhesitatingly 
concluded that their professed admiration for the 
truth, and love for a more exalted world or kingdom 
of joy, righteousness and felicity — as announced in 
christian parlance — was but an accommodating fiction, 
better adapted to surrounding social life and general 
mental aptitude, than to meet and satisfy "that 
higher light of understanding," which finds its reward 
in "wise consideration" and unquestionable knowledge. 

Thinking that I would like to hear the rappings 
I one day said to my mother, whose advice and ap- 
proval I usually sought in the various acts and move- 
ments of my younger days: 

" I guess, mother, I'll go out to Eochester ere 
long, and while there I'll make a visit to the Fox 
Family and listen to the "spirit noises." Perhaps I 
may receive a message or hear from Brother, espe- 
cially if there's any truth in what people say." 

"I think you'd better keep away from there, my 
boy," she smilingly replied, "the privilege of com- 
muning with spirits and angels is easier claimed than 
fulfilled, and moreover, if you go and listen to the 
sounds which are heard in the presence of the Fox 
girls, it will become known, and everybody in the 
neighborhood will laugh at you, and you'll be called 
a "devotee of the marvelous. ;; 



78 A mother's advice. 

"Well," said I in reply, "if life is a battle to be 
fought out, and the self-complacent indifference 
of men is forever to obviate a claim to just and 
honorable motives in the investigation of any and 
every new subject, I am for once fully convinced 
of my individual freedom of mind, and am ready to 
meet in the contest of powers which is to decide the 
fate of a generous sincerity on the one hand, or of a 
bickering meanness and distrust on the other." 

" I have not a wish in my heart, my boy," she 
again remarked, " to interpose an objection to your 
visiting the Spirits, but you know there are some 
unhappy stories afloat concerning the family in 
which the rappings occur, and those who go there 
are usually made the butt of social jokes and pastime 
at home." 

"Yes," said I, "the privilege of abuse is however 
only a negative assumption of the will. All free- 
thinkers and reformers have been maligned, ill-treated 
and ignored ; the early christians themselves were kicked 
and buffeted about by a presumptious and self-con- 
ceited populace. They were sneared at and mortified 
in their poverty. They wandered from place to 
place and slept upon the bare earth ; yet, notwith- 
standing these misfortunes and the hardships which 
they endured, they triumphed in after generations, 
and men bowed the knee in worshipful adoration 
of the identical views and opinions which they had 
so ignominiously contemned and scorned." 

"The human mind is a wretched bundle of un- 
certainties," continued I, "and I confess a want 
of respect for every characteristic of mental artifice 



A mother's advice. 79 

and deceit. It's not my pleasure, mother, to agree 
with those who hope rather than know, or who con- 
stantly forego the exercise of that desirable sincerity 
which is never out of place, and which the biggest 
fool in the world soon learns to respect when worth- 
ily associated in life." 

My mother seeing that I was somewhat dis- 
turbed in that sense which I possessed of the pro- 
prieties and improprieties of human conduct and ex- 
pressed sentimentality, very quietly answered : 

" As for myself I don't think there's any partic- 
ular harm in going to hear the "spirit rappings," 
but you know, " people will talk," and whether con- 
sistently or otherwise, the effect is about the same, 
for in the growth of public sentiment upon any sub- 
ject error is quite as likely to be approved as truth, 
and whatever people think, whether right or wrong, 
is for the time being the strong belief which they 
most rely upon, and their sense of justice and con- 
duct are mostly governed by this fortuitious con- 
viction. 

After a moments reflection I rather tartly re- 
marked : 

"I don't care much as to what people think. 
When I have a good opportunity I shall most surely 
go and hear the " rappings." 

My mother smiled at my obstinacy, and with a 
most significent look replied : 

"I guess you want to see the "Fox girls" more 
than you want to hear the sounds." 

" Well, " said I, somewhat distressed over her 
jocularity of mind, "you've got the better of me in 



80 THE PHENOMENA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

argument this time." When with a hearty laugh at 
her merry expression our conversation ended. 

In deliberating upon the subject of the "spiritual 
manifestations/' I thought it not best to be in to 
great haste in arriving at conclusions, even though 
under the pressure of ample evidence. It was my 
determination however to regard the matter in the 
light of reason and candor whenever a favorable 
opportunity should offer, and to shrink no responsi- 
bility in my investigation of the phenomena through 
fear of popular objections or the opinions of others. 
The subject was new, and as my mother said, people 
would talk, but nevertheless as it was my habit to 
exercise the fullest freedom of mind upon every 
disirable occasion in life, I resolved to desist from no 
honorable purpose simply to satisfy the "stock-jobbers" 
in public sentiment, or to suit the more isolated and 
selfish interests of individuals who might have an ax 
of their own to grind. 

The existence of spirit beings and their ability 
to demonstrate their presence was no longer a ques- 
tion in my judgment, and I believed those persons 
to be very illogical in their methods of reasoning, 
if not. altogether unwise in their decisions, who could 
announce a propriety in refusing the examination 
of a subject so evidently important as spirit commun- 
ion, or who would fly to the support of their 
"antiquated ideas" at a rate so expensive to the 
demands of knowledge. 

Men, I remarked, seldom refused to handle gold 
because of the existence of its counterfeit; seldom 
refused to barter with degradation w r here a prospect 



THE PHENOMENA OF SPIRLTUALISM. 81 

of gain was implied in the dealing, wherefore then, 
thought I, do they refuse to consider a subject, a 
phenomena of the most vital consequence ? Are men 
in fear of the spirits of the death ? Do they wisely 
avoid contact with their own departed kindred, 
Fathers, Mothers, Sisters and Brothers, made immor- 
tal through the very flesh and blood of their own 
households. Why is it that we are so peculiar ? 
Have the spirit populations who have gone before, 
found an abiding place only in some proximate bed- 
lam of the "invisible," that we dodge them as so 
many "malicious imps of darkness." If spirits are 
wicked men should know it. If good, they should 
make it a matter of happy consideration and pleas- 
urable comment. John, the beloved apostle advised 
his followers, not to renounce but to "try the spirits,' 7 
and thus determine whether they were good, and 
worthy of human confidence. What less can we do 
than acknowledge the wisdom of his advice, and 
benefit by his experience. His counsel was given, no 
doubt, as the result of observation and investigation. 
He had no fear of the dead, neither good or bad, 
but evidently desired to keep acceptable company in 
dealing with spirits, as he would in dealing with 
mortals. 

It is unquestionable that due reflection will 
invariably suggest not only the propriety, but the 
absolute necessity of the exercise of a liberal, yet 
staid and unflinching criticism in the investigation 
of all new and difficult subjects; and it must ever 
be regarded as extremely unsafe to submit too 
willingly to a credence in matters which pertain to 



82 THE PHENOMENA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

the "mysterious," the "phenomenal" or the "unseen." 
Indeed, it is quite certain that a just and legitimate 
inquiry into any theory, subject, or philosophy, any 
practical scheme in life, pursuit or purpose, can best 
be made when the mind is on its guard as against 
the encroachments of hasty and accommodating credu- 
lity. 

In speaking of spirits we should ask ourselves 
these questions: Why do they institute a system 
of "physical manifestations?" Why do they at all 
times cast a veil of mystery over their acts and 
demonstrations? Why do they make themselves 
known to some families and not to others? Why do 
spirits approach us more frequently at night than 
during the hours of day, and, especially, why do 
they near us to cast their influences over mentality 
and human consciousness in the twilight of the early 
morning? Why do they impart unpleasant as well 
as agreeable dreams and sensations? Why do they 
often guide and direct individuals from harm 3 then 
again, as in other instances, molest the peace of a 
whole community, or nation, by abusive processes in 
psychologic "Obsession" and "Witchcraft?" 

These and many similar inquiries must inevitably 
arise in the mind of every investigator of the subject 
of spiritual intercourse, and honest consideration 
must ever suggest the necessity of the application 
of every needful defense in criticism, ere the replies 
received either through observation or accumulative 
evidence, can be properly accepted and made a part 
of our "better knowledge." 

It is undoubtedly always justifiable to regard the 



THE RAPPINGS. 83 

small or apparently insignificant facts and circum- 
stances, which present themselves here and there in 
new forms and phases for our reflection, as well as 
the more important and prominent ones, for while 
we may be satisfied in regard to the immortality 
of the soul, and the possibility of spirit influence in 
the actualization of various mortal interests, it is un- 
doubtedly quite as true that without a general and 
thorough comparison of existing facts, details or 
minutia, the conditions upon which these essential 
propositions depend, could not be so easily deter- 
mined, and the intellect would thus remain unsatis- 
fied, or in other words, the confidence of the mind 
would rest in belief alone. 



CHAPTEE VII. 



WENT TO HEAE THE EAPPING. EEV. CHAE- 

LES HAMMOND. MOTIVES OF THE 

DEPAETED. 



It was, dear reader, after long-continued desire, 
and under the guidance of opinions, such as I have 
herein freely presented, that in company with the 



84 THE RAPPINGS. 

Eeverend Charles Hammond, of Bochester, I visited 
the celebrated Fox Family, who were, as I have be- 
fore written, then residing in that city. It was how- 
ever several months subsequent to the receipt of the 
kindly advice which had been given me by my mo- 
ther, and at a time when the interest felt in the 
subject of the "rappings" had become more intense 
and far more widely extended. 

Mr. Hammond was occupying the desk of the 
Universalist Church in the village where I lived for 
a few Sundays in the absence of the settled minister, 
who had been called away to some other locality to 
preach. Having been acquainted with my Father, 
who had formerly worn the clerical harness, but who 
had now divested himself of the cares and burdens 
which were implied in its use, he made it his plea- 
sure on several accasions to stop at our house on the 
Sabbath day. It was during one of these visits that 
he extended a kindly invitation to my Father and 
his family to call upon him at his residence in the 
City of Bochester, promising at the same time that 
if we would do so, he would escort us, one or all, to 
the residence of Mrs. Fox, with whom he was well 
acquainted; that we might thus have the pleasure or 
satisfaction of listening to the "Spirit Bappings," and 
be thereby the better enabled to decide the question 
of truth or artifice, as employed in their production. 

Mr. Hammond had become deeply interested, 
if not somewhat enthusiastic, in the investigation 
of the singular phenomena which had now taken the 
name of "Spiritualism/' and which withall had made 
its appearance in other families than that of Mrs. 



THE RAPPINGS. 85 

Fox, and in other localities than that of Rochester 
City. He had been accused by his brethren of the 
Universalist denomination, not only at home, but in 
other places, of mystifying, if not of almost wholly 
abandoning his relation with the Church. He was 
accused of teaching spiritualism in the pulpit, and 
was adviced by his clerical associates not to permit 
a subject so demeaned in instability as "Spirit mani- 
festations" to lead him from a faith in doctrinal 
Christianity, or allow his personal interests to sink 
under a stigma so wretched, and which it was as- 
serted would destroy every good prospect in his mi- 
nisterial career. 

Notwithstanding all this Charles Hammond made 
himself amenable only to the advice of his own heart 
and understanding, and fearlessly clipping his church 
record, entered the service of the Spirits Guides who 
first through the rappings, and subsequently through 
the mediumship of his own hand, adviced him in 
wise if not artful words to receive and cherish a 
mission in the confidence of spirit advice and counsel. 

He unhesitatingly accepted the new situation 
which was thus offered, and without delay persued 
the convictions which he had formed during the 
first season in which he was engaged in the invest- 
igation of spiritualism. 

Having some business of a personal nature to 
transact in the City of Rochester daring the month 
of Jane, 1848, I visited that place, and while there 
called upon Mr. Hammond at his residence upon 
Sophia Street, where I was cordially received by 
himself and lad} T , and urgently requested to remain 



86 THE RAPPINGS. 

over night, to which invitation I accorded a most 
willing consent. 

During the evening and while at his house it 
was my pleasure to listen to a recital of the details 
of the experience of Brother Hammond, as given in 
his own words, in regard to his examination of the 
strange phenomena of the mysterious noises. He 
related every particular as to how the rappings oc- 
curred, explaining wherein they differed from those 
sounds which, although in some manner similar, were 
produced by us ; stating likewise that the spirits had 
manifested a singular inclination to a familiarity 
with himself, in answering his various questions, and 
in communicating with him by means of raps upon 
any and all occasions. He said also that they often 
touched his person, pulled his clothing, fumbled his 
hair, and during evening seances had frequently 
fanned his face with a picture which was painted upon 
oanvass stretched over a frame, and which was taken 
from the place where it hung upon the wall, at 
Mrs. Fox's residence, and transferred by unseen hands 
a distance of twelve or fifteen feet for that purpose. 

In his description of the scenes which he had 
witnessed he spoke of many wondrous tests which 
he had received from time to time from the "invis- 
ibles," and which he said were given to satisfy his 
mind concerning the future life and the truth 
of spiritual intercourse. 

I listened to his narration of facts and particulars 
in regard to the doings of the spirits with emotions 
of surprise, and with feelings of the deepest concern 
and curiosity; and while I entertained many doubts 



THE RAPPINGS. b7 

in regard to the matter I still cherished a hope 
that his statements were not only true, but that in 
the development of a system of orderly manifestations,, 
and without at once greatly interfering with the 
more fixed opinions of men, the spirit world might 
confer a happiness upon the human heart by bestow- 
ing upon mankind some more direct and reliable knowl- 
edge concerning immortality, and the conditions of 
life which such a state of existence necessarily implies. 

Mr. Hammond seemed very much pleased with 
his experience as an investigator of spiritualism, and 
I really thought from his earnest manner of relating 
his story, that I could observe an inclination in his 
mind too zealous, if not over-hasty enthusiasm. 

Prudence in reflection, thought I, as I retired to 
my sleeping room that night, is a holy gift; to 
detain our would-be desires, and those thoughts 
which in their constant multiplication are too apt to 
force us into premature convictions, if not hasty 
action, is a purpose seldom adviced in human wis- 
dom. The Eev. Charles Hammond is truly a 
wondrous thinker, and is a man of marvelous ability 
as a public speaker and orator. He chains his 
audiences by an avalanche of words delivered in the 
happiest flow of expression. Sometimes he wanders 
in the realms of the imagination in discourse, and 
seeming to forget his own effort, he succeeds in 
binding the attention of his listeners by ideal figures 
of speech and beautiful impromptu utterances. He is 
a person who evinces the most unfaltering zeal and 
determination in his efforts. Wherever his judgment 
leads him — and his action in that is usually based 



88 THE RAPPINGS. 

upon intuitive thought more than upon logical infer- 
ence — there in unyielding, impolitic stubbornness, 
stands this noble hearted and fearless advocate 
of new ideas in religion and philosophy, whom his 
enemies abuse in his goodness and magnanimity, 
malign for his self-selection of thought, pure hope 
in immortality and devotion to the interests of the 
cause of spiritualism. 

On the morning following my visit to Brother 
Hammond's, and at about ten o'clock in the forenoon 
we together through mutual desire and consent made 
our way along several by-streets to the rather retired 
and humble dwelling of Mrs. Fox. I was to have 
an opportunity to hear the rappings and decide for 
myself the question of disbelief or confidence. My 
companion and guide was to introduce me at the 
morning seance, and I was to take advantage of any 
favorable moment or means to make inquiry of, or 
communicate with the spirits. We approached the 
house where the Mediums resided and rapping at the 
door, were at once admitted, Mr. Hammond being 
known and recognized as an acquaintance and friend 
of the family, as well as an honest and earnest 
investigator of the spiritual manifestations. 

Passing through a narrow hall, to the right 
of which was a small parlor, we ascended a short 
flight of steps, and entering a small back room 
which was elevated to accommodate the needs of a 
kitchen below, we were invited to a seat beside a 
large double-leafed dining table, where several persons 
who were strangers, had already commenced to 
organize a "circle for the sounds." 



THE RAPPINGS. 89 

The room was without a carpet, and contained 
no furniture with the exception of a table, a 
half dozen chairs of ordinary pattern, and — if memory 
serves me — the addition of a somewhat well-worn 
lounge. I looked about, but saw nothing which 
indicated a desire on the part of the occupants 
of the house to practice deception upon visitors, or 
those who came to witness the spiritual demonstra- 
tions. The three sisters sab side by side at the 
table, while not less than seven other persons 
occupied seats around or near it. 

As I sat in the circle listening to a familiar 
conversation which was going on concerning the 
various doings of the spirits — singular performances 
which were being every day enacted in the presence 
of the Fox girls — I could not help remarking the 
inimitable sangfroid which characterized their man- 
ners and appearance in the company of comers and 
goers, and which they evinced in their treatment 
of the manifestations of which they were the chosen 
instruments. 

The two youngest girls were quite fair looking, 
if not handsome. The eldest sister, who was said to 
be married, was not less commended for the beauty 
of her features, and was. evidently the chosen ward 
who presided over the spiritual interests of the 
household. 

As I looked at the young ladies seated in social 
chit-chat waiting the condescension of the spirits, I 
could not help thinking of the merry remark which 
my mother made about my being more interested in 
the "girls" than in the Wrappings." I saw that they 



90 THE RAPPINGS. 

were pleasant and agreeable, as well as kind and 
obliging to all new-comers, and seeing no impropriety 
in their deportment, I concluded that at all events 
their acquaintance might not be less acceptable on 
account of their being attended by the "invisibles," 
or wrapped in mystery. 

We patiently waited for something more than 
twenty minutes when suddenly and as if through 
concert of action a large number of soft and peculiar 
raps were produced apparently uj>on and under the 
table. These noises continued for some half hour or 
more, sometimes upon the floor, at others upon the 
ceiling above our heads, then again upon the side 
walls of the room and against the door which led to 
the hall without. A gentleman who was present 
and who seemed to be extremely scrupulous in 
regard to his notions about the sounds, asked per- 
mission to step into the hall to see if the spirits 
could produce the raps on the opposite side of the 
door. 

His request was immediately granted, and the 
spirits rapped on both sides of the door at once with 
increased power and emphasis. He returned defeated. 
His chagrin and dissappointment were quite manifest 
as he re-entered the room and ejaculated: ■ 

"I guess there ain't any wire-pulling out there." 

The alphabet was now called for and several 
words and sentences were spelled out for the benefit 
of those present. Mental questions were asked and 
answered. Mr. Hammond received a message of ad- 
vice. A gentleman from Albion received replies to a 
number of inquiries, and expressed a thankfulness 



THE RAPPINGS. 91 

for what he had heard and seen. As for myself I 
sat like a monk, without words or favor from the 
unseen beings who presided over the demonstrations 
from the other world; yet I satisfied myself from 
observation that the Mediums were innocent as regarded 
the cause or origin of the mysterious noises; but as 
to whether they were indispensable vehicles for their 
production — as was commonly asserted — was to my 
mind an unsettled, if not a very doubtful question ; 
for in view of the discreet intelligence which I 
observed was exercised by the spirits, and their 
ability to announce themselves by various unusual 
sounds at a considerable distance from the Misses 
Fox. I could see no just reason for thinking that the 
auric theory of their development was either true 
or reliable. 

After an hour the seance ended, and although I 
had not personally communicated with any spirit, 
either mentally or orally, yet I was better pleased 
for having visited the Fox family in the freedom 
of my own mind, without fear, favor or prejudice; 
and while I was convinced that spirit rappings were 
a veritable truth, I saw that they were likewise a 
solemn riddle, too deep, too profoundly hidden in the 
knowledge of super-terrestrial minds to be easily 
understood; and I was equally as well adviced that 
the object of the manifestations was hampered and 
secreted in that wisdom which the "invisibles" alone 
possessed. That they desired to communicate with 
mortals was to clearly indicated in the evidences 
which I had witnessed to be denied, but that a ride 
of restrictions operating under the ban of mystery was 



92 VARIOUS OPINIONS CONCERNING THE DEPARTED. 

imposed upon the permission in spirit life to hold 
converse with men, was also as certainly demonstra- 
ble from the ghostly maneuverings which I beheld, 
or else the life of the "immortals" had become so 
changed in its relation to earthly existence as to 
upset every principle of order, law, or consistency as 
known to us. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



VAEIOUS OPINIONS CONCERNING THE 
DEPARTED. 



As I returned home upon the conclusion of my 
visit in Rochester, my mind inevitably reverted to 
the spirits and the demonstrations which I had wit- 
nessed, and I reasoned with myself concerning them 
on this wise : If the dead live, wherefore should 
they remain silent or reticent of a disclosure of their 
condition of existence. It is true that history furnishes 
no case of common familiarity in intercourse with 
the dwellers of another and a higher world, yet 
many instances are known m which unseen in- 






VARIOUS OPINIONS CONCERNING THE DEPARTED. 93 

telligences have manifested their presence, and held 
conversational communion with men. Not less than 
forty remarkable cases of spiritual intercourse are 
recorded in the scriptures alone, while profane history 
abounds with unnumbered occurrances of a similar 
character, and with statements of unaccountable 
manifestations and events, which have come under 
human observation, as well to astonish and confound 
the wise, as to implant feelings of awe and supersti- 
tion in the minds of the ignorant, the vulgar, and 
the unpretending. The legends of Ireland and Scotland 
abound in tales of ghost-seeing and revelations con- 
cerning the departed. The natives of the Nicobar 
Islands put up scare-crows around their villages to 
defeat and frighten away hostile and malicious spirits. 
The inhabitants of Kamtchatka complain of and 
insult the spirit deities of the air whenever their 
wishes are unfulfilled. The Jorubans of Africa 
believe that dreams are not the result of an irregular 
action of the brain, but are a product of spirit 
influence, and so many revelations from the beings of 
another sphere. The North Americaa Indian never fal- 
ters in the chase, nor ceases to hunt for his enemy, when 
inspired by that confidence which is based upon his 
dreams and the advice and counsel of the prophets. 
The Greenlanders believe in visions and think that 
at night they actually engage in hunting, visiting 
and courting. 

Thus nearly all savages conceive of a life 
beyond the earth and believe that they are visited 
by the spirits of the dead. This instinctive idea 
pervades the records of every nation, and crops out 



94 VARIOUS OPINIONS CONCERNING THE DEPARTED. 

in the prevailing religious sentiment of every age. 
Mind naturally seeks to know itself, and in a state 
of ignorance belittles the object of its own desire, by 
fictitious conceptions and false assumption in knowl- 
edge. The undeveloped intellect, it is true, is not 
wholly amiss in its convictions concerning the unseen 
and the eternal. It may be, in a degree, mistaken 
through fear and false education, but there is a basis 
of truth connected with the universal belief of man 
in spirit life and visitation, or else all inference is 
unreliable, all history uncertain, and human 
ideas of truth abusive of the happiness of life, as 
well as contradictory of the evident purposes expressed 
in the "designs of nature." 

The spirit rappings, thought I, as I reflected, 
furnish incontrovertible proof of the existence of 
spirit beings. Beings whom we cannot see, with 
whom we cannot speak, save through processes 
of their own adoption. The quibbles of "invisibles," the 
contradictions of which many complain, are no 
evidence against an established truth. Even the 
doubts which are Engendered and which men enter- 
tain from this seemingly unhappy cause, may yet 
prove a judgment in the better interest of human 
understanding. Mind is presumptious, assuming, staid, 
self-satisfied and unintentionally willful. The desires 
and feelings of the heart are not always in unison 
of purpose with the decisions of the intellect or 
the wisdom of the soul. There is a perpetual conflict 
between joy and sorrow, passion and reason, and we 
are ever short of knowing the extent of our own 
intelligence or ability. Spirits may reach in knowl- 



VARIOUS OPINIONS CONCERNING THE DEPARTED. 95 

edge beyond our conceptions of the capacity of mind 
to comprehend. They may see it to our disadvan- 
tage to speak with us in freedom, "as a man speaketh 
with a man/' The world has need of a demonstration 
of immortality perhaps, more than of the "sublime 
particulars" of a future life. Were this not so, inter- 
course with the dead would certainly have been granted 
centuries ago, and even now would not come hood- 
winked by mischief, mystery and rules of equivocation. 

Spirits must see mankind exactly as they \xre, and 
appoint their mission to correspond with their concep- 
tions of our needs. Indeed, we may not be as worthy as 
we believe ourselves to be. The religious sects hold this 
communion with the departed to be objectionable; 
they are humiliated by its humble methods; they 
say it is truckling and undignified, and molests their 
established systems of faith and worship. Some say 
it cannot be true. That it is really false, degrading 
and mischievous, in this, seldom thinking of the 
fictions of the imagination upon which all theology 
is founded, and which doses the human mind with 
nostrums of thought, too sickening to be ever 
justified in reason where selfish motives and interests 
are ignored. 

The spirits are vindicable in the course which 
they persue or else they are consumately hard- 
hearted, indifferent to mortal affection, if not absolut- 
ely wicked, said I, as I deliberated upon the subject 
of what I had seen, heard and read concerning their 
recent maneuverings, and while I do not believe in 
the malevolent enmity which prompts abuse and 
personal slander. I conceive it to be just and right 



96 VARIOUS OPINIONS CONCERNING THE DEPARTED. 

that men should be wary, critical and discerning in 
their investigation of a phenomena so astonishing 
and unusual. People assult the private character 
of mediums as an argument against a system of unac- 
countable manifestations. Of what consequence is the 
private life of a family in view of the actual in a cause so 
wondrous. Our inclination to haste in personal 
accusation is a fault, yet it often seems to advance 
a better judgment in the interest of truth. We cover 
up our own defects and mistakes, and to serve a 
selfishness in individual wants and understanding, we 
cast stones with careless freedom. We revile and 
annoy each other for those differences which should 
be considered and reconciled. The peace of a nation 
is always in jeopardy where ignorance dominates 
in society, and men are in conflict of sentiment over 
the plainest evidences of knowledge. Eeligious big- 
otry is the most terrible blunder of human confidence. 
All our commutative relations are sordid and care- 
worn as a consequence of our deceit, and illiberality 
in considering subjects of interest. The whole world 
is in a conflict of views over questions concerning 
"equal rights," "general laws," "intelligence," "ecclesi- 
astical authority" and "commercial relations." The 
Japanese have heretofore refused foreigners permission 
to settle in their 'Golden Empire," while the Americans 
opened their doors and welcomed the world to partake 
of their joys and hospitality. The extremes of re- 
buff are housed in every heart, and animadverted in 
every bosom. Wherefore are we to chide spirits for 
not conforming to our conceptions of right and 



VARIOUS OPINIONS CONCERNING THE DEPARTED. 97 

wrong? Let us welcome any testimony which is 
likely to satisfy ns of the safety of our kindred in 
immortality. If death brings peace and wisdom as 
most religionists assert, then a judgment of angelhood 
is over us, and our worth as individuals and nations 
is measured with minutest accuracy, and our inter- 
course with the "heavenly hosts," is guaged to suit 
the value of our mistakes, pretences and inimical 
comprehensiveness of mind. 

AYe must admit that spirits and angels are little 
improved by the change of death, when we become 
their dictators, and decide in what manner they may 
or may not communicate with us. Self-satisfaction 
in knowledge may be adopted as a panacea for 
righteousness ; but mind is ever more happy, as well 
as more consistent, when it is willing to measure the 
entire circumference of being. Mankind are given 
to habits and opinions wholly local in their origin, 
and childishly exclusive in their application to prac- 
tical life. The Chinese twist their hair into a tail, 
smoke opium in large quantities, and barter incense 
with Jos, the God of their adoration. The Arabs 
sport their red, white and gray turbans, invoke the 
name of the prophets, prostrate themselves within 
their mosques, and then, in conformity to habit, go 
out to mingle with men and overshadow all truth in 
human dealing, by equivocation, hypocrisy and 
foibles of the tongue. The Lapps put the 
images of their Gods into separate boxes, 
and write thereon their several names, that 
they may not get confused in regard to their 

E 



98 VARIOUS OPINIONS CONCERNING THE DEPARTED. 

own identity. The Kyoungtha of Chittagong usually 
worship morning and evening, beginning by ringing 
a set of bells to inform Boodh, their principle Deity, 
that they are in readiness to offer their prayers and 
suplicate for mercy. The Kaffirs, when on a mar- 
auding expedition, give utterance to various peculiar 
cries and hisses, thinking thereby to deceive the 
Divinities in regard to the objects of their pursuit. 

O, consistency; blessed state of mental desire, 
thou art truly too often abridged of thy holiness and 
worth through folly and ignorance in human life. 
Men worship God in a thousand ways ; but why do 
they so belittle the characteristics of his being in 
seeking his kindness and compassion? Commodore 
Perry asserts that in a Chinese Temple he saw an 
image of the Devil represented in human form and 
possessing a most hideous physiognomy, while in 
front of him was placed the image of the virgin and 
child. This was indeed a most anomalous assortment 
of company, and was probably the result of a mis- 
conception of christian customs, or of the application 
of ideas to principles. The human mind abounds in 
a strange admixture of sense and ' nonsense, and 
those who presume to know the most, are often- 
times the source of the greatest mistakes as well as 
of the greatest misfortunes to themselves and others. 
The actual in life, in nature, in thought, escapes their 
recognition. They follow the pathway of a " father- 
hood departed," and cling to the 'old signs" and 
"established habits," under the impulse of fear, hope, 
desire, ambition and custom. They are not patient 
in reflection, neither circumspect in observation; but 



VARIOUS OPINIONS CONCERNING THE DEPARTED. 99 

like the barnacle which clings to the ships bottom; 
they hold on with unyielding force, if not satisfaction, 
to the "hobby of life's earliest choice." The imagin- 
ation is constantly drawn upon to furnish a substitute 
for more substantial knowledge, comprehensiveness, 
deliberation, discernment, and wise discretion are 
surely wanting in every system of religion known to 
humanity. The only thing which makes the chris- 
tians faith more worthy, more acceptable than all 
others, is its pliability, or recognition of the idea 
of progress. In other words, its conformative 
development as manifested under the pressure of the 
advancing tide of intelligence and civilization. Mind 
seeks for a knowledge of things which are hidden 
and difficult to understand. It looks to the eternal 
for satisfaction in being, but receiving the rebuff or 
disappointment which ignorance usually confers upon 
itself, it holds a counsel over its own ideas and con- 
ceptions, and finally chooses like the lost man in the 
forest the best alternative. There is no wrong in 
the influence which makes men and nations differ; 
but the absence of wrong motives in the cause which 
produces variability in things or ideas, is no evidence 
of the presence of absolute truth, much less of the 
exercise of justice toward men, as authorized in the 
more acceptable ways of wisdom. 

When spirits come to the earth they are either 
good or bad. Who is to decide this important ques- 
tion ? Is it those who remain at home and make no 
effort, or those who "try the spirits?" Perhaps they 
are all good, and more intelligent than we presume 
them to be. May it not be possible that our own 



100 VARIOUS OPINIONS CONCERNING THE DEPARTED. 

defects, follies, and wickedness are the cause of the 
insecure manifestations which we receive? Perhaps 
our notions concerning human equality, justice and 
equity are not founded in righteousness. Perhaps we 
are not worthy of higher recognition from the spirit 
world. Would men feel happy to know that angels 
are far more humble than themselves, being greatly 
more wise. Our arrogance may be a punishment to 
us in heaven, and our self-centered charity and per- 
sonal conceit may receive a just rebuke in sorrow 
when we least expect it. Give to the poor and 
needy, was the command which Christ gave to his 
followers. But the rule would seem to have 
been reversed in modern times, for the rich 
who claim to worship according to his teachings, not 
only struggle to increase their own wealth, but the 
labor of the poor is the foundation of their success. 
If spirits are wicked, we should know it. If our 
kindred in immortality, our Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, 
Brothers, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins have degenerated, 
or have heen denuded of common sense as a con- 
sequence of their transition to another condition 
of existence, then certainly it behooves us to make 
our stay upon earth as long as possible, nor should 
we yearn to know of a state of being which degrades 
our happiness, or bemeans our intelligence. 

No, no; such opinions are as fictitious as the 
fleeting wind. We may mystify the honor, the good- 
ness of the Divine Being by circumlocution in 
thought and expression, may barter away our joy 
and hope in a raid of words upon the godlessness 
of spirits, because they rap their notes of warning to 



VARIOUS OPINIONS CONCERNING THE DEPARTED. 101 

the world, because they tip tables and make mock 
faces to establish the fact of their existence and 
prove their identity. We may chide God for making 
the Devil to torment his own kingdom and power, 
as men have too often done, but when we compre- 
hend nature, when we know ourselves, and grasp the 
broad possessions of creation with the refined teles- 
cope of mind, our fictions vanish, our follies depart, 
our mistakes becomo corrected, our beliefs annulled, 
our opinions and convictions changed. We are no 
longer selfish, we hold no enmities, we seek no sor- 
ded satisfaction in life, we are humble, kind, unas- 
suming, just and generous. Our religion becomes 
universal, our love all embracing. We have confi- 
dence conceived in sobriety, and happiness founded 
upon justice and virtue. The broad earth is our de- 
lightful home, the expansive heavens our pleasure. 
Study embracing the wondrously amplified features 
of creation becomes our joy, while the myths of past 
ages no longer thwart the objects of reason, nor in- 
trude themselves upon the freedom of manly con- 
sideration. 

Such were some of the many thoughts which 
brooded over my mind, immediately after my 
visit to the Fox Family, and during the long 
weeks and months of the years eighteen hundred 
fifty-one, two, three and four; and during all that 
time I was quietly engaged in the toilsome duties 
of domestic life, ploughing in the fields upon my 
Father's farm, hoeing corn, cutting and securing grass 
and grain, gathering fruit from the orchards near our 
dwelling, or caring for the meager stock which we 



102 VARIOUS OPINIONS CONCERNING THE DEPARTED. 

kept, during the cold blustering days of winter. I 
had not forgotten the "Spirit Kappings." I sought 
for the opinions of men concerning them. They 
were unsatisfactory, often frivolous, and seldom pro- 
found. The subject was unpopular. People smiled 
when the spirits were mentioned. The savants were 
befogged. Peeling humiliated because unable to ex- 
plain a mystery, they shrugged their shoulders and 
expressed their indignation by the sobriquet of "hum- 
bug." I had but little to say about the "manifesta- 
tions."' My neighbor, said I, was a spiritualist, how- 
ever, and "greatly beside myself in the adoption of 
such a belief as that" Beards were then unpopular, 
and I was laughed at for wearing a moustache and 
beard, especially by the ladies. They said I looked 
like an ape and was strangely constituted to be 
fanatical in my views. The church people said that 
I ought to let spiritualism alone. That I was a very 
upright young man, paid my debts, was just and 
honest, but that spiritualism was a terrible thing. I 
loved them better for the short-sighted privilege 
of abuse which they enjoyed and exercised over my 
dependent circumstances in life, and I sought no 
redress for the wrong which I sustained. I contem- 
plated spiritualism with independence, with fearless- 
ness, and a hope for its truth. I believed not in the 
pretences of men. I was convinced of the utter 
ignorance of all the world in regard to a future life. 
The word heaven, it is true, was familiar to the ear, 
and the immortality of the human soul was a theme 
of thought often indulged in; but the demonstration 
of a condition of existence beyond the earth, its 



VARIOUS OPINIONS CONCERNING THE DEPARTED. 103 

cause, its certainty, the why and the wherefore, 
belonged not to mortal man to explain. 

In spirit communion I saw a hope, a practicle 
guarantee of the safety of the soul when the physical 
body was laid aside. I saw that the motives which 
actuated men were based upon selfish purposes. 
They had not so much objection to spirit rappings, 
as they had to a flurry over certain fixed opinions 
of their own views not necessarily sincere, but 
usually appointed in self-interest and founded upon 
educational precedent. My mind was free from all 
religious bias, and I concluded to do my own think- 
ing. I loved my father who was an old man. He 
had been a theologian, was a thinker, and under the 
inscrutable influence of thought had adopted the 
freest sentiments of mind. People said he was 
insane upon the subject of spiritualism. Nay; his 
body was worn out. His brain was in the decay 
consequent upon old age, and his thoughts were 
therefore rendered in a somewhat garbled expression. 
He was near the grave. His belief in sectarianism 
was damaged. He saw through its films, and 
no longer courted its recognition. He had no objec- 
tion to the worship of the heart in whatever form, 
but he ignored the idea of accommodation in religion. 
He was maligned, slandered and mostly confined at 
home in self-selection of life during the ten long 
years which closed his earthly career. 

I say, I loved my Father, for he penetrated the 
shams of ecclesiastical lore and logic, and stood 
upon the broad platform of knowledge or nothing. 
He was too old to investigate the phenomena of spi- 



104 FURTHER REFLECTIONS. 

ritualism with any degree of accuracy or wisdom, but he 
cherished the strongest hope that its claims might be- 
come established; that communion with the departed 
might be realized. He was nearing the home of the 
everlasting world. Four out of six of his children 
had already passed over the river of death. They 
were spirits. They were his children, and he still 
cherished a hope in their goodness and a desire in 
their interest. Were his wishes amiss? Those who 
knew him best knew him to be good, kind and 
strictly honest. But they said, "his belief in spirits 
is a great mistake." He should go to church, and 
hear the Eev. Axumoff's sermon oil the "purity 
of the angels, and the devil's wicked work." 



CHAPTEE IX. 



FURTHER REFLECTIONS. FREE THINKERS. 
BEAUTY OF NATURE. A STRANGE SIGHT. 



Mind is a most singular admixture of doubts 
and certainties, of satisfaction and dissatisfaction, 
of joy and sorrow, of belief and disbelief, of self- 



FURTHER REFLECTIONS. I j 

abnegation and arrogance, of pride and humility, 
of devotion, distrust, querulousness and irregularity. 
The differences which men manifest in their ideas, 
in their actions, in appearance, and in their inclina- 
tions, are too little considered, hence to objectionably 
regarded. Our unwillingness to conciliate the opin- 
ions of others, our desire to foist' our individual 
views upon the world and our refusal to acknowledge 
the blessing of adverse thought, is a mark of individual * 
fogyism and pusillanimity which demonstrates the 
existence of bigotry, and proves the insecurity of the 
intelligence which we posses. Every person should 
identify his or her peculiar views, and should be per- 
mitted to give expression to the sentiments of the 
heart and understanding. It is the purpose of nature 
that we should differ, that our differences should 
augment our knowledge and serve to establish our 
wisdom upon that j>ermanent basis which is rigidly 
cautious, yet amply willing, nobly generous, and highly 
just. In the social and intellectual commerce of life 
we are all liable to commit mistakes, to make 
blunders, to plunge into misfortunes, hopelessness and 
despair. But experience is the winner, and the 
individual most annoyed, most studious, most worthy, 
like the pebble most worn, will present the most 
exact as well as the most polished characteristics. 
The many trials and difficulties which he encounters, 
the man}- obstacles which he has to overcome, the 
saffering which he endures, all tend to awaken his 
thoughts, improve his judgment, refine his manners, 
and exalt his nature to conditions of greater perfec- 
tion and harmony. 



106 FURTHER REFLECTIONS. 

Not long subsequent to my visit with the Rev, 
Charles Hammond, at his residence in the City 
of Rochester, my attention was called to an examina- 
tion of the claims put forth in favor of the teachings 
of the Harmonial Philosophy by several eminent and 
able writers, men of profound thought and of great 
ability, eminent alike as scholars and authors, the 
friends of humanity, and the agents and advocates 
of the most liberal opinions. Among these were 
Andrew Jackson Davis, the seer, The Rev. R. P. 
Ambler, Appollos Munn, Rev. S. B. Brittan, Judge 
John W. Edmonds, Hon. Nathan P. Falmage, Robert 
Dale Owen, Robert Hare, the practicle chemist, and 
many others who were equally as earnest in their 
investigation of the "mysterious manifestations" — which 
were then attracting public attention in many por- 
tions of the country — as they were honest, sincere 
and deserving as expounders of this, and the "new 
philosophy" which received its origin therefrom. 

Through the various efforts which were made by 
these distinguished theologians, scientists and thin- 
kers, much was accomplished toward supplying the 
many needed explanations and arguments upon the 
subject of spiritual intercourse and phenomena, which 
as a result of prevailing incredulity, yet of constantly 
awakening desire among the people were really so 
much demanded. 

Mr. Davis, the inoculate author, confounded the 
sentiments of a nation by his marvelous extempor- 
aneous utterances and exhibition of unstudied knowl- 
edge. His inspirations were the most wondrous event 
of the age. His mind reached the loftiest conceptions 



FREE THINKERS. 107 

in theoretical and philosophical thought, and his logic 
stood the test of the strongest scrutiny. 

The Kev. E. P. Ambler was the first lecturer 
upon the subject of the spiritual phenomena, became 
the guardian of the ''Spirit Messenger.' 1 and fearlessly 
met the opposition of the world. 

The Rev. S. B. Brittan published the " Spiritual 
Telegraph/' received the various opinions of writers 
and correspondents, and together with his own views, 
which were always clear, concisely stated and well 
applied to existing needs and demands, sent them 
forth to bless a hope in human life. 

Judge Edmonds took the newly imported demon- 
strations into his household, and bartering no honor, 
labored with candor and becoming zeal to aid hu- 
manity to a better understanding of the "life beyond, '' 

Dr. Hare tried the spirits by many scientific 
methods, giving them very little spare time for jocu- 
larity or unmannerly exhibitions of their presence 
and power. Indeed, he confined them to the rigid 
rules of chemical and mathematical demonstration, 
and proved their existence independent of medium- 
is tic contact. 

The Hon. N. P. Talmadge, Warren Chase and 
Robert Dale Owen saw and accepted the new light 
and aided in the decimination of its vivifying in- 
fluence by every possible effort to humanity. They 
sect their thoughts abroad over the earth to sanctify 
the opening of communion with the immortal world, 
and to convince mankind that the judgments of hea- 
ven were awarded to men. 

These were some of the tried and true souls, 



108 FURTHER REFLECTIONS. 

who undauntingly, yet in the face of numerous ob- 
jections, obstacles and discouragements, struggled to 
establish the important fact of the agency of spirits 
in the production of the modern '-mysterious develop- 
ments." They aided the cause of liberal thought by 
numerous well-timed arguments, statements of facts, 
and by w T ell-expressed opinions upon subjects of liberal 
interest, both orally and in writing. Their ideas and 
sentiments were embodied in the literature of the 
times, and together with those enunciated by others 
— able thinkers and considerationists, both in Europe 
and America — tended to win confidence, secure res- 
pect, and demonstrate the practical benefit to be de- 
rived from a comparison of views upon the subject 
of communion with another and a higher world. 

In the midst of the ever accumulating duties 
which pertained to the accommodation of a house- 
hold, being left to shoulder the cares and responsi- 
bilities which were placed to my account as a con- 
sequence of the decrepitude of an aged Father, who 
was no longer able to properly attend to his own 
business affairs, I was temporarily debarred from the 
happy privilege of continuing my investigation 
of the phenomena of spiritualism, and for some time 
I gave but little heed to the many strange evidences, 
singular manifestations and new phases of medium- 
ship, which presented themselves here and there in 
various parts of the country, as well to amuse the 
frivolous and inconfident as to confound the thought- 
ful and the wise. 

The direction given to my thoughts in childhood, 
however, and the interior causes which prompted my 



BEAUTY OF NATURE. 109 

mind to the contemplation of things "spiritual," were 
nevertheless silently in active process of being con- 
tinued, to the furtherance of personal satisfaction in 
the acquisition of a knowledge of the truth of the 
immortality of the human soul, the nature of the 
laws of mind, and the conditions of life as likely to 
be experienced by the released spirit. 

Ever and ever the spontaneous desire for such 
knowledge increased. The great problem of man- 
kind's existence and destiny worried my thoughts 
and discomposed my soberest reflections. The real 
joy of life was broken, and the nobler purposes 
of manhood lagged through indifference caused by 
the despair of the heart over the defective compre- 
hension of the intellect in its grasp for the great 
"hereafter." 

I went out upon the hills; I wandered alone in 
the woods; I stood beside the purling stream; I 
listened to the merry birds as they delivered their 
sweet notes of melody in inadvestant self-contentment 
of being; I sat down upon the gray moss beside a 
broad-armed green-clad hickory tree and mused in 
sorrowful despondency. 

I had read theories and considered philosophy. 
My Father had been a teacher of theology. The 
benefit of his reflections had been mine to enjoy. I 
had heard the "spirit rappings;" had thoughtfully 
regarded the writings of A. J. Davis; had perused 
some of the writings of Swedenborg; was somewhat 
familiar with the scriptures; had experienced many 
singular realizations in life, although quite young, 
and had enjoyed much personal happiness as a result 



110 FURTHER REFLECTIONS. 

of observation and the opinions which I had formed 
concerning man, nature, freedom, justice, and the 
sublime power and influence of the Divine Mind: 
still I was not satisfied — I was yet seeking. 

The spirit demiza was interestingly mysterious, 
and more than mysteriously, interesting. I could not 
comprehend the usefulness of deceit, neither the need 
of restrictions upon social commerce with the 
"immortals." 

'Providing spiritualism is true," I reflected, "and 
of that there can be no doubt — why do the spirits 
contradict themselves? Why do they bicker over 
thought and nullify each other's statements by cir- 
cumlocution and ambignity in expression? Why 
amuse themselves at our expense, yet claim to 
possess and enjoy the most exalted happiness and 
wisdom." 

Their messages are many times as well worthy 
of the head as heart, then again they are nonsensical, 
trashy, malignant, shallow, wordy, and unworthy 
of the attention of sincere and thoughtful j)ersons. 
Their answers to questions are many times straight- 
forward, well-conceived, honest, reliable, and perfectly 
satisfactory. Then again they are uncertain, confused, 
of doubtful signification, if not over-adviced and 
meddlesome. 

'•Mankind,'' thought I, as I looked up into the 
pure blue ocean of space far above the forest trees 
which grew in stately majesty upon the hill-sides 
near where I was resting, "are more presumptions 
than knowing; are more given to the pursuit of knowl- 
edge, than to its acquisition. They say spirits are 



BEAUTY OF NATURE. Ill 

this, and spirits are that. They theorize, and 
philosophize, hectorize and dogmatize, confound their 
own logic and part company with common sense." 

The more I considered the subject of a future 
life, the more I realized that man possessed no posi- 
tive knowledge concerning it. That his prospects in 
eternity were only happyfied, so to speak, by "Faith," 
'•'Hope," "Inference," "Confidence," and that anibi- 
guousness of thought which ensconces itself in a sea 
of words without critical analysis of their meaning 
or contents. The belief of the christian I considered 
not unworthy, but his practice of the precepts advo- 
cated by the teachers of his choice, proved contra- 
dictory of the sentiments advanced and the belief 
professed. 

Thus I could find no consolation in uncertainty, 
in mystery, in doubts, confusion, equivocation or hy- 
pocrisy. I went out to nature in my deep, deep 
heart, and confessing my own ignorance and impo- 
tence of being, I consoled myself in sadness as 1 
gazed upon the beautiful creations which surrounded 
me. The hemlock stood over by the water, casting 
its dark shade into its bosom. The branches of the 
yellowish-foliaged chestnut hung downward, heavily 
laden with full clusters of fruit-bearing burs. The 
white oaks with their long arms clothed in nature's 
garb of leaves, and producing abundance of acorns, 
shaded the rolling earth in every direction. The 
maples with their dense green foliage and admirable 
forms addressed the sense of sight with pleasure. A 
cluster of flowers with variagated hues grew beside 
the little brook, and the honey-bees were buisily en- 



112 BEAUTY OF NATURE. 

gaged among them securing their sweets. A brown 
wren flew from her nest within a confused mass 
of stumps, logs and brush, and dancing upon a twig 
quickly darted from my sight. A song-thrush mocked 
the elements of music by the throttle of his tongue 
under the bushes hard by. The shrill whistle of the 
Woodchuck sounded upon my ear from the slope 
of a hill to my right. All nature was busy. The 
waters babbled along through the valley. The leaves 
of the silver Pioppo were restless in the breeze. A 
flurry of wind moaned through the trees. Again I 
looked heavenward. I thought of my sisters who 
were dead, of the Brother whom I had loved, and 
who was also now a spirit. 

In nature I found satisfaction, in the sky hope. 

God, the Universal Father, spoke in accents un- 
mistakable in my soul. In everything which I be- 
held I saw evidences of the nearness and wisdom 
of the Divine Mind. The grass which lay beneath 
my feet was soft, green, beautiful and full of life; 
the forest grew in every leaf and limb. The running 
stream ceased not its monotonous song of joy either 
night or day. The bland breezes coursed along over 
the ridges and through every nook and dell, flouting 
here, softening there, maddening under the influence 
of pressure while passing through some narrow 
gulch, or mellowing down into zephyic mildness over 
the broad open plain. 

The sun was sinking in the horizon of the West 
as I turned my footsteps toward home I felt hap- 
pier. I had communed with God in nature. 1 found 
repose of mind in the works of the Creator. 



BEAUTY OF NATURE. 113 

As I wandered homeward from the lonely retreat 
in the woods, where I had been for several hours, I 
turned my thoughts to the subject of the "After 
Life," and reflected concerning the probabilities of its 
being actualized in individual experience, knowledge, 
consciousness and identity in immortal realms. 

"If the Spirit lives," said I, "it must have a 
place of abode. If it lives, it must possess the func- 
tions and qualities, in some measure, characteristic 
of beings of organized life. For nothing short of the 
organic form, in qualification, is endowed with power 
and ability to produce, or induce mental action, spe- 
cial manifestations of force, intelligence or thought. 
The wordy minister refers to "heaven" and "futur- 
ity," without definiteness or specialization, and the 
abode of the so called " wicked" remains equally a 
place without a situation, location or position." 

Thus I mused as I walked along. It was a 
peculiarity of my mind to seek consolation and 
happiness in the pursuit of reflection concerning the 
"great hereafter." Whether this sense was a result 
derived from an unseen psychologic impartation 
of desire, or was provoked as a consequence of an 
inherited inclination, I was unable to decide. I 
could not divest myself of the conviction however, 
that my deceased Sisters, Brothers, Eelatives and 
Friends were still living. But where, was the 
unsettled question. 

I strode along through the fields and over the 
fences, contemplating nature, and holding a silent 
Parle of words in my mind over the convictions 
of my own understanding, when ascending a rise 



114 A STRANGE SIGHT. 

of ground which brought me in view of my Father's 
house. I paused for a few moments to rest from 
my wearyness, seating myself upon the trunk of a 
fallen oak by which I had to pass. As I sat in con- 
tentment gazing upon the soft mellow light of the 
declining sun which had now robed itself in the 
splendors of the evening hour, I suddenly caught 
the glimpse of a restless shadowy something in motion 
in the air not more than twenty feet in front of my 
position, and about as many from the ground. I 
fixed my eyes in closest attention upon the spot 
where I observed the singular movement. It appear- 
ed like a person swinging his arms in rapid evolutions. 
I sank back in half-conscious despair and fright as I 
saw the outlines of a transparent human figure. It 
was hardly discernible. A fleece of light impressed 
my vision for a single moment, and all was gone. 

Amazed at what I had seen photographed amid 
the elements of the atmosphere so near me, over- 
whelmed with astonishment and confounded in 
understanding, I went home at last with a drooping 
heart and heavy thought. I was completely subdued 
in mind. I was distressed for want of knowledge. 
My intellect was inadequate to the task of solving a 
problem in philosophy — the problem of the appear- 
ance of "spectral forms." I went to my books — a 
meager supply — but could find no worthy solution 
of the mystery. A small volume entitled the "night 
side of nature" written by Catherine Crow, and 
compiled from unquestionable historic data, gave me 
the gist of a new theme of thought. Numerous 
instances of similar waking visions were therein 



FURTHER REFLECTIONS. 115 

related, but no satisfactory theory was adduced in 
explanation of their cause or origin. I was baffled. 
The principles involved in their production, as in all 
spiritual phenomena, were too profound, too deeply 
hidden for ordinary discernment or comprehension. 
I felt outwitted. Nature was my master. Out- 
wardly I could discern her methods, her motions, 
and active tendencies. Her analogies were just, 
reliable and conclusive. But the spiritual elements 
and motive principles governing matter were inscru- 
table. I could not reach a knowledge of the system 
of interior laws which were instrumental in the 
production of such a manifestation as I had wit- 
nessed. 

"If it was an actual "spirit presence," I reflected, 
"then the scene must be considered as so much the 
more marvelous. If it was a result substantiated 
through the control of atmospheric ethers, or was 
but a retinal impression enstamped upon my vision 
by psychologic processes only known to beings 
of another world, or if indeed it were but an "illu- 
sion," supplanting the natural action of my mind — 
in either case I can only regard it as a most sin- 
gular presentation, and my desire to understand its 
nature and cause, instead of being diminished, is 
greatly increased. I am therefore resolved to seek and 
search with earnestness for the information which I 
so much desire to possess, and which shall cancel 
my ignorance — for it is nothing else — upon a subject 
so extremely interesting and important." 

Concerning spiritualism, which still continued to 
make rapid advancement and progress, and which 



116 FURTHER REFLECTIONS. 

was being constantly re-enforced by accessions of new 
Media and new phases of manifestation, I was as 
well convinced of its truth as I was better satisfied 
that certain obstacles or hinderances were, through 
the design or wisdom of the invisibles, interposed 
to prevent that familiarity in intercourse with 
them, which the human heart and intellect in their 
natural inclination must so inevitably yearned to 
establish. I saw that spirits were accused of lying, 
of contradicting each others messages, of engaging 
in frivolity as a pastime for themselves and investi- 
gators. The fault finding and nicely proprietitious 
religionists, intimated that his barbe-tailed and behoof- 
ed majesty with the proto-impceanhoHt, had introduced 
"raps" and "table-tipping" to deceive and mislead 
mankind. Then again some said it was all a farce, 
while others — the majority — said nothing. 

For weeks and months I meditated. I believed but 
little. I sought to know more. I convened my own 
mental faculties, and privately debated every question 
of interest. The phenomena of spiritual intercourse 
was my joy, but I was not always pleased with the 
doings of the spirits. Their methods were not 
— according to my judgment — always to be approved, 
but of the correctness of the decisions of my own 
mind I gave room for many doubts. I presumed 
the angel world to be able to measure the needs 
of men and nations in all matters pertaining to the 
"great hereafter,' , and I confidently hoped for the 
best. 



PERSONAL REALIZATIONS. 117 



OHAPTBE X, 



PEKSONAL KEALIZATIONS. A VISION. 



I have said, dear reader, that dreams and visions 
of a strange and impressive nature were, with me, 
a matter of common occurrance in my younger days. 
As I advanced in years these became facts of still 
more frequent experience, and sometimes were so 
remarkable in their varied characteristics, that the 
enigma of their singular features and design was as 
marvelous and unaccountable as it was many times 
a source of interest to consider. Sometimes my interior 
realizations were in every sense so like my inherent 
inclinations, so exactly a counterpart to the outward 
daily activities of my mind in thought, desire and 
observation, that I could hardly distinguish between 
that consciousness which was of dream-life, and that 
of wakeful self-recognition. 

I was satisfied that mind possessed no ability in 
the absense of reflection and self-knowledge — as during 
sleep — to organize beautiful scenes, concoct plans, 



118 PERSONAL REALIZATIONS. 

carry forward projects and purposes, travel, converse 
with friends and strangers, extemporize prose and 
poetry, get into unpleasant difficulties and become 
extricated by struggles, artful dodging and deceitful 
maneuvers, without extraneous aid. From reasoning 
I became fully convinced that spirits, our own 
departed kindred, were instrumental in the produc- 
tion of our dreams, and that the law of psychology 
was the basis upon which rested the holy privileges, 
as well as the unhappy experience, in them realized. 

In the matter of my own convictions concerning 
this and kindred subjects I usually remained very 
quiet, seldom expressing an opinion in defense or 
even in reference to my own views, I was, it is 
true, often laughed at and objected to an account 
of my belief in spiritualism, which in verity was too 
often mistakenly magnified and misrepresented, as 
well through prejudice and thoughtless inadvertency 
of mind, as through studied malevolence, malice and 
design. It was owing to these facts that I prudently 
avoided any frequent allusion to the prevailing spirit 
manifestations, and those characteristic, mysterious 
laws of psychologic mental control, which were to 
me the greatest mystery in nature. 

Thus I enjoyed the satisfaction of thinking pri- 
vately and quietly, that my semi-trance realizations 
were prompted and produced — at least in a great 
measure — through the influence of invisible, intelligent 
beings. That they were often a source of much joy 
and comfort, I can certainly and most solemnly 
attest; for the inward eventfulness of the long 
night hours, which came freighted with scenes 



PERSONAL REALIZATIONS. 119 

of happy significance and sublime beauty, often affor- 
ded subjects for the most delightful meditation, and 
crave relief to the mind in its otherwise monotonous 
habits of thinking. 

I was the subject of strange impulses. Sensa- 
tions and emotions, quite as annoying at times, as at 
others they were pleasant and agreeable, impelled 
me during daylight hours to the adoption of a choice 
in all things which pertained to the rotine of my 
personal duties and obligations in life; while, to use 
the phraseology of Scripture, I was, during sleep, 
often " caught up," and in visions of incipient clair- 
voyance boyantly floated heavenward, where being 
sustained by a seeming effort of my own will, I real- 
ized an amplification of experience by hundreds 
of miles of atmospheric journeyings. High above 
forests, cities and villages, over broad fields, plains 
and shining waters, with ease, comfort and happiness, 
I moved onward like a bird of passage, gazing upon 
herds and flocks which were grazing in finely culti- 
vated fields in every direction, or looking down upon 
multitudes of people, who were going hither and 
thither to suit the diversified purposes which were 
constantly presenting themselves in the pursuit 
of life, as a result of individual enterprise, activity 
and interest. 

Upon one accasion, which I still remember with 
the greatest pleasure, I took to flight, so to speak, 
in this manner from the earth and mounting the at- 
mosphere to the very verge of the clouds, was rapid- 
ly conveyed over a wide extent of country which 
was decorated here and there with rolling hill3, 



120 A VISION. 

green valleys, pure and beautiful lakes and still flow- 
ing rivers. I felt somewhat uneasy, as I passed 
along with rapid flight far toward the eastward from 
the place from which I had departed, I realized the 
same inclination to a downward tendency, which I 
had many times previously experienced. And it 
seemed to be upon the strength of the effort of my 
own will, that I was enabled to support myself and 
journey along amid the congenial elements of the 
moving stratums of the air. I could see many miles 
toward every point of the compass. In the distance 
to my right arose a range of lofty shattered moun- 
tains, lifting their bare peaks to the very heavens. 
In the opposite direction and almost beneath my 
feet, I beheld the sparkling waters of an ocean 
whose smooth surface extended far beyond the ken 
of vision. As I gazed downward, and far in advance 
of my position I discerned the exterior line of an 
arid desert. Quickly I neared the uninviting scene 
with its broad stretch of parched sands looming upon 
my sight. Not a tree, shrub, plant, flower or spear 
of grass grew upon its face. 

I now saw that I was floating amid the aereal 
ethers, above a heated, yellowish, untilled solitude, 
which was void of every living thing, and which, 
from its unproductive and uninhabited condition, pre- 
sented a hopeless and forlorn appearance, and sent a 
thrill of sorrow to my already anxious heart. The 
beautiful vales which I had seen, with their limpid 
streams trailing along through the wood-lands and 
open meadows, the flocks seeking shelter from the 
sun beneath the shade trees in a thousand fields, 



A VISION. 121 

the orchards, the waiving grain, the presence and 
industry of man, were no where to be observed. 

I felt lonely in my situation. A feeling of sad- 
ness and despair seemed to gain access to the 
sensibilities of my soul. As I advanced in my super- 
terrestrial flight, I observed that I began to loose 
that boyancy of being, which I had kept up by the 
effort of my will, and which I had almost inadvert- 
antly exercised. I noticed, also, that I began to de- 
scend toward the barren waste below me, while yet 
struggling mentally to buoy up my floating form. 
As I looked to the eastward while making a gradual 
descent to the earth from my exalted position, I 
discovered, many miles in front and to the left 
of my location, a silvery sheet of shining water. 
This was margined by low-lands covered with dense 
vegetation and forest trees, which reached back to 
the line of the barren sands of the desert. Upon 
turning my face to the south-east, I noticed upon an 
elevated point of the arid plain not far away a grand 
old temple of massive masonry, which covered a wide 
area of sandy soil, and was standing entirely alone, 
unoccupied and apparently deserted. The greyish- 
yellow sand had drifted up against its western walls, 
and lay in great ridges, extending from its extreme 
sides many rods in opposite directions. 

I felt attracted to this solemn and majestic work 
of art, and could not restrain the inclination of my 
mind to view its interior. I at once lost my ability to 
continue a wondrous aereal journey. My will failed to 
hold my body up, and I quickly descended to the 
entrance of the temple upon its southern wing. 



122 A VISION. 

Mounting a broad piazza or portico which was cov- 
ered by a wide arch and supported by large stone 
columns of greyish marble, and which from their 
time-worn and frastured condition gave positive 
evidence of great age, I entered a door which led to 
a most spacious apartment, and one which I judged 
from appearance had once been used for purposes 
of religious worship, as a hall for public speaking, or 
some similar use. The room was empty with the 
exception of an elevated platform at one end, a large 
pile of mixed and cast off rubbish in one corner, and 
a broken image which leaned back in a grotto in 
the rear of the rostrum giving diversity as well as a 
lonely look to the scene. 

Observing a wide opening or entrance to a hall 
in one corner of the room, I at once directed my 
footsteps thither. Pursuing the avenue to its termi- 
nation, and turning to my right, I found a door 
which opened into another apartment, not as com- 
modious as the first, but far more elegant and 
inviting in consequence of its varied architectural 
decorations. I gazed upon its central concave arches 
with a feeling of delight. Its high wraught and 
beautifully grottoed cornice, embellished with scrolls 
of a most ingenious and attractive form, with here 
and there images hanging in alto-relievo from the 
walls, and diversified by colors inwraught, intermixed 
and transposed in every part, lent an appearance 
of grandeur, and a charm to the scene which com- 
pletely overcome my mind, and I sat down all alone 
in silence to enjoy rest and meditation. 1 was 
transported with delight, every object pleased my 



A VISION. 123 

sight. It was a vacant court of magnificant design 
and elaborate finish, wherein a people of primeval 
origin had met to worship in the love of nature. 
Nothing could exeeed its fading splendor. As I 
arose from my seat and was directing my footsteps 
toward a narrow flight of stairs which I had 
observed in an angle of the room, I suddenly espied 
upon the wall near me, the following sentiment, 
which seemed to rise in beautiful golden letters from 
its surface: 

Time, the Builder. 

Time, the Destroyer. 

Was. Is. Is not. 

As I observed these words, my vision ended. I 
awoke, and instead of finding myself in a grand old 
temple, where it seemed to me as though I was act- 
ually gazing upon the gorgeous beauty and stately 
grandeur of the architecture of departed ages, I 
found myself snugly laid away in my bed at night, 
and surrounded by the most impenetrable darkness. 

What a change! A complete mental revolution. 
An exaltation of the senses. The Mind, the Spirit, 
lifted up and enraptured by a most definite abnormal 
experience. My thoughts were perplexed, my reason 
was confounded, yet I was not without satisfaction 
in what I had seen and realized. But what was the 
cause of such a vivid dream? Certainly, thought I, 
the mind possesses no interest in things or scenes 
which it never conceived of. It is more reasonable 
to believe that such impressions are the result 
of "angel ministration," or of "spirit influence," than 
of inherent, individual inclination, as established in 



124 A VISION. 

the independent action of the intellect. Nothing 
short of a foreign control of the mental faculties 
could ever produce a vision so perfect to the realiza- 
tion of every sense of the soul. The mind has no 
capacity to reach out in thoughtful consciousness and 
the enjoyment of felicitious visions during the hours 
of sleep, without the aid of some extraneous, intelli- 
gent cause. There is no truth or propriety in the 
supposition that the spirit is capable of wandering in 
dreams, or that the mind may accommodate itself by 
special action wholly unsolicited, as in observation 
unexpected, in research unsought, in laborious jour- 
neyings, in flights, in trials, difficulties and sufferings, 
during moments of slumber, without the intervention 
of psychologic laws. The mind is an instrument, 
and when at rest, may be acted upon in its various 
faculties and functions by unseen powers. The Guar- 
dian Watcher may attune the latent elements of the 
soul to an expression of the most happy and harmo- 
nious conceptions, perceptions and actualizations. 
There is no wandering in dreams. The sense of seeing, 
of hearing, of taste, of touch, of smell, as experienced 
in the abnormal state of sleep, of somnambulism, 
of trance, are wholly confined to superinduced action 
within the limit of the encephalon. The spirit is not 
released from its confines within the complex nerves 
of the senses. The organic form of the soul is fixed, 
established, permanent, and cannot be changed; 
neither can the spirit be free from its habitat within 
the structures of the physical body and brain, short 
of death. But the mind once calm, quiet, happy and 
tranquilized in natural and peaceful sleep, may re- 



PERSONAL REALIZATIONS. 125 

ceive the imposed sensations, impulses, feelings and 
inclinations which are imparted to it, or cast upon 
it from heights and distances undetermined, by the 
will-effort of the unseen monitionists of the heavenly 
household. 

The more we each consider the subject of our 
own interior experience, the better satisfied we became 
of the fact that the same rule, law, or principle 
— that of mystery — governing the production and 
introduction of dreams and visions to the senses 
of the slumbering soul, is identical with that controll- 
ing the physical manifestations, and development 
of spirit power, as given through the rappings, in 
table-moving, and the twenty or thirty other known 
forms of mediumship. But why the existence of this 
law or principle of amplification and confusion in 
dreams and spiritualism? We are conscious that 
dreaming is a universal privilege and is enjoyed by 
nearly every living person. That of any community 
of one thousand people, not less than a quarter 
of the whole number, awake from their slumbers 
each morning to announce the felicity or infelicity 
of their abnormal impressions. 

The indefiniteness, the mystery, the strange 
inaccuracy and inconsistency, the singular admixture 
of ideas and scenes, and the unlooked for operations 
and performances which pertain to dreaming and the 
state of sleep with their kindred conditions of trance, 
extasis and somnambulism, furnish an enigma as well 
to deep for ready comprehension, as it is justly cal- 
culated to afford food for mental reflection, delibera- 
tion and remark. 



126 PERSONAL REALIZATIONS. 

Not a household thought I, is without its Spirit 
Watchers. Even the poor, the humble, the unworthy, 
the vicious, the degraded and the wicked, have 
friends who have died. They are no less the guar- 
dians of earthly populations than the opulent, the 
aristocratic, the educated and the wise. We all love 
our own relatives and pride ourselves upon our 
chosen associates. It is easy to fix a fate for others, 
but it were wiser to seek to know of our own. 
If our deceased kindred live, they have not aban- 
doned the deep, fixed and abiding friendships and 
loving regard, built up and supported in family 
domestication, and neighborly intercourse. They are 
still our kindred, our Brothers and Sisters, Fathers 
and Mothers, and through the success of Divine law 
as substantiated in nature, they are permitted or 
enabled to live near us unseen and unknown. We 
entertain suspicions of their presence, intimations 
of their nearness, and declarations of their continued 
life and love. Dreaming is but one of their happy 
hints, one of their kindly yet obscure suggestions, 
of acquaintanceship, memory, consideration, attach- 
ment, favor, afiinity, recognition or salutation. 

But still it is asked why are dreams so peculiar. 
Some are prophetic and reliable, others are wise 
and wondrous. Some are beautiful and full of joyous 
happiness to the dreamer, while the majority are 
strangely compounded of sense and nonsense, of con- 
ceptions received in order and disorder. People are 
often saved from harm or led into conditions 
of prosperity and happiness through a belief in 
advisory dreams. Some are made anxious, others 



A year's travel. 127 

suspectful; some feel unsettled, or hold a doubt, a 
fear, a hope, a prejudice from the same cause. All 
are more or less blessed by the process of dreaming. 
No one was ever known to be harmed thereby, how- 
ever much they may have seemed to suffer therein. 

These were some of the many thoughts which 
arose in my mind from time to time as a consequence 
of my individual realizations as a visionist and 
dreamer. As to the correctness of my impressions 
or views upon this subject, the reader will be better 
able to decide perhaps after considering what may 
be offered concerning it in still other pages of this 
volume, 



OHAPTBE XI. 



A TEAK'S TRAVEL. STRANGE PHENOMENA 
IN SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS. 



Owing to the needs of my family, and the neces- 
sity of my providing for their support, I entered in- 
to an engagement in the Spring of 1856 to travel in 
the West with a theatrical company under the man- 



128 A year's travel. 

agement of my brother-in-law, Mr. G, A. Hough, a 
gentleman ever respected by the " members of the 
profession," and Mr. Samuel Myers of Chicago, son- 
in-law of the once famous Dan Marble. 

My wife had followed the calling of an actress 
and danseuse during four years previous to our mar- 
riage, but preferring the quiet and comfort of private 
or home life, and following the duties and obligations 
which were imposed upon her as a result of my cir- 
cumstances and desires, she had not at the time here 
referred to appeared upon the stage more than once 
or twice during several seasons. 

Our journey to the West was rather unexpected. 
My brother-in-law had been to New York to engage 
people for his company. Upon his return he called 
at our house to make a brief visit as had long been 
his custom. While with us, he solicited our services, 
which after due reflection and a mutual understand- 
ing as to what salary we were to receive, and et ce- 
tera, we concluded to grant as well to his command 
as interest. 

In a few days we had made all necessary pre- 
paration for a summer's travel. I had no desire 
myself to leave home at the time, to live a wander- 
ing and unsettled life, as my Father and Mother 
were both becoming considerably advanced in years, 
and needed my presence to look after their interests 
and enjoyments. But I was poor. My Father's 
scanty means were no more than sufficient for the 
maintainance of himself and wife, much less those 
of my own family, my sister and several grand chil- 
dren, together with friends and relatives, comers and 



a year's travel. 129 

goers, who are always necessarily entitled to receive 
our sympathies and favor in the bestowment of worthy 
accommodation and comfort. Hence as a matter of 
money alone I was induced to accept the engagement 
offered by Mr. Hough to myself and wife, and in 
less than eight days from the time of his visit to 
our house we were on our joYirney to the City 
of Dubuque, Iowa, where the various other members 
of the company were to meet for organization and 
the commencement of professional duties. 

We arrived at Dubuque on the twenty-fifth day 
of April and remained there for something better 
than two weeks. From thence we journeyed to St. 
Paul, Minnesota, by steamer, where we remained 
nearly four months, returning in August by way 
of the Mississippi to Lyons and Davenport in the 
State of Iowa, and thence to Ottawa, Bloomington 
and Springfield, Illinois, during the fall and winter 
months. 

It had early been determined by the managers 
of our troupe, which was composed of some twenty- 
five persons, that they would remain in Springfield 
during the session of the Legislature which was to 
convene in the month of December, as it was thought 
that the assembling of that body, if nothing more, 
would tend to render a theatrical season of three or 
four months not only pleasant, but remunerative to 
all concerned. 

Upon arrriving at the capital of the State 
of Illinois on the twenty-second day of December, I 
found it somewhat difficult to secure a boarding 
place that would not absorb the weekly salary 



130 A year's travel. 

of myself and wife, which at that time amounted to 
the very acceptable sum of twenty-two dollars a 
week. After spending some three days looking about 
here and there, during which time we were at a 
hotel paying for day-board at a high rate, I had the 
good fortune — as I thought — through the advice of a 
friend to serve myself with a very comfortable room 
in a somewhat retired inn which was near what was 
then called Metropolitan Hall, where our performan- 
ces were nightly given. We entered our new 
lodgings with pleasure. The apartment assigned 
to our use, was on the ground floor, was com- 
modious and well furnished, but from the fact 
that .the windows were very small, and opened upon 
a back yard, which was surrounded by high buildings 
and which in a measure shut out the light, it wore 
a gloomy appearance, which was not only remarked 
by my wife, but by nearly every one who happified 
us with their company. 

We passed the first week in our new quarters 
very contentedly. Our room was warm and com- 
fortable, large and easy of access, and we wondered 
how our handlord could afford to bestow upon us so 
much accommodation for so little money, as our 
board only amounted to twelve dollars a week, while 
several single persons belonging to our troupe 
were paying quite that amount. 

Business at the theater was excellent. The Le- 
gislature had met, organized and was engaged in the 
duties pertaining to legislation. The city was full 
of strangers, each seeking the accomplishment of his 
own object ; some simply to visit the place for pur- 



STRANGE PHENOMENA IN SPRINGFIELD, ILL. 131 

poses of curiosity or observation, others to perfect 
commercial transactions, some looking for their suc- 
cess in personal interests through coaxing and cajol- 
ing of State senators, representatives, friends and 
coajutors, while many came to invest capital in var- 
ious kinds of business. Springfield was really a lively 
place, full of comers and 'goers, and the center of a 
most substantial trade with a broad circuit of coun- 
try. 

We had remained in the New England House, 
as the hotel was called where we stopped, only about 
two weeks, when one day, just after dinner, I walked 
out with a friend to be absent only for a short time. 
Upon my return to my lodgings I found my wife 
occupied in washing some small articles of clothing 
in a wash-dish which stood upon a stand to my left 
as I entered the doorway which was on the north 
side of our room. I had but just stepped in, when 
my companion, turning about from the duty in 
which she was engaged, looked at me with a very 
serious smile and remarked: 

"My goodness, Marcenus, don't you believe, I've 
had the "rappings" during your absence." 

'•What do you mean, my dear," said I, as I 
gazed at her in astonishment. 

"I mean," she replied, "that while you was out, 
and as I stood near the wash-stand ringing out the 
handkerchiefs and little things which are now out 
drying, I suddenly felt light concussions under my 
feet upon the floor, and I recognized them at once 
as "spirit Tappings." 

u Did they rap much?" said I, somewhat anxiously. 



132 STRANGE PHENOMENA IN SPRINGFIELD, ILL. 

"At first/' she answered, "they commenced on 
their own account, the sounds being very light and 
gentle under the bottom of my right foot. As they 
ceased I requested the spirits to rap again, and 
louder if possible, w T hen equally — I may say — to my 
surprise and fear several louder noises were produced." 

"Oh, Delia," said I, - half-credulous and half- 
doubtful of her veracity, "I guess you're trying to 
play a joke on me, ain't you?" 

"Laughing at my want of confidence in what 
she had said, she very quickly replied: 

"No, indeed, I am not trifling; they are truly 
"spirit rappings," for they sound precisely as those 
did which I heard in Eochester in the presence 
of the Fox girls." 

Noticing that I had a rather facetious smile upon 
my countenance, and thinking that my belief in 
what she was saying was a little shaky, she very 
sincerely as well as suggestively continued: 

"You may think that I am not in earnest, but 
I really am. Now to satisfy yourself step up there 
near the door to the left of the wash-stand and 
ask the spirits if they will rap for you " 

I at once complied with her request, when 
equally to my mortification and amazement very 
distinct noises were produced directly under my 
feet. 

"I guess you are in the right, Delia," said I, as 
I pondered on the singularity of the occurrance, 
"but what in the world makes the spirits come here 
to rap, and that just at this particular time ?' 

"I don't know," remarked my wife, as she gazed 



STRANGE PHENOMENA IN SPRINGFIELD, ILL. 133 

at me with a rather interested though evidently 
anxious look, "I don't know; but of one thing I am 
quite certain, I felt unhappy when I first came into 
this house, and when I was in this room alone the 
first day I experienced a very unpleasant sensation 
of hopelessness and dread.'.' 

"Well," said I, "wishing to turn her mind from 
that drooping seriousness and in quietude which she 
began to manifest, "let us see if we can't induce 
the spirits to account for their conduct. Perhaps 
they'll answer our questions, or communicate with 
us." 

"I have been trying to get them to answer my 
questions for some time," remarked Delia, "but with- 
out any definite satisfaction. The rapping is very 
much confused and it's impossible to tell whether 
the sounds are designed as replies to questions or 
not." 

Notwithstanding my wife's assurance that there 
was no likelihood of my receiving any intelligible 
answers to the inquiries which I might make, I 
insisted upon conforming to the good christian 
apostle's advice, wherein he counseled men to "try the 
spirits," and so I said: 

"Will the intelligence which causes the rappings 
to be made, consider our desires and endeavor to 
answer our questions by the usual method, one rap 
signifying no, two doubtful, and three yes" 

A single rap was the answer. 

I was satisfied at once that the spirit had mis- 
understood my question, or otherwise was inclined to 
display a pugnacious inclination of mind — from per- 



134 STRANGE PHENOMENA IN SPRINGFIELD, ILL. 

sonal necessity or some other cause — upon being too 
closely pressed; for the more I insisted upon a 
direct reply the more emphatic became the solemn 
single sound. 

I continued to ask questions for some time when 
at last almost despairing of meeting with any success 
in the object which I had in view — that of getting 
a consistent and sensible reply to a reasonable 
inquiry — I was impressed to ask: 

"Does the spirit wish us to leave the room 
which we occupy ?" 

An emphatic three raps were immediately given, 
and to this inquiry several times repeated, we 
unfailingly gained the same unmistakable "yes." 
Indeed, this was the only straightforward answer 
given to our questionings, and which never failed to 
be made when the same inquiry was propounded. 

For some time I endeavored to converse with 
our unseen attendants, but failing to elicit anything 
conclusive or desirable, I said to my wife : 

"Let us not be troubled about the spirits. I 
don't think, they'll do us any particular harm. If 
you're willing, I'll get out my violin and play'em a 
tune." 

Laughingly she replied: "Perhaps you'de better; 
it may make them good natured and more con- 
sistent." 

No sooner had I taken out my instrument and 
commenced to play thereon, than the rappings began 
to be more distinctly heard beating time to the 
music. This continued for a few moments and then 
ceased. 



STRANGE PHENOMENA IN SPRINGFIELD, ILL. 135 

Feeling that I had done all I could for once to 
fathom the singular mystery which had so unexpec- 
tedly presented itself in our appartment, I said to 
my companion who was at the time preparing to go 
to the public hall where she had to meet her eve- 
ning obligations: 

"This is a most strange affair. Let us not men- 
tion the fact of the occurrence of this phenomena in 
our room to any person, at least not until we know 
more of its characteristics. It might molest our 
relations with the landlord, Mr. Trowbridge, and his 
family, and be a source of serious trouble to us in 
many ways if we should. To morrow I will see 
what further progress I can make in obtaining ans- 
wers to questions, and I will also look into the cellar 
below and endeavor to learn exactly how we're 
situated." 

"I won't say anything about it," remarked De- 
lia, as she placed in my hand a little box, with a 
request to carry it to the green-room of the theater, 
whither we were going. 

Eeceiving the box and taking my little girl by 
the hand, we three together now made our way out 
of the hotel into the street, and directed our foot- 
steps at once to the building where our performances 
were given. 

My wife had been in the habit of leaving our 
Jennett, then in her fifth year of age, in the room 
we were occupying during brief intervals in her ab- 
sence, but upon this occasion, through prudence as 
well as timidity, it was thought advisable to take 
her with us. 



136 STRANGE PHENOMENA IN SPRINGFIELD, ILL. 

Like most people I naturally had a horror 
of " tampering ghosts/' notwithstanding my desire to 
comprehend the < k laws of life," to reach a knowledge 
of the " immortality of the human soul," and to un- 
derstand something of that state of existence which 
my own kindred in spirit had naturally and unavoid- 
ably inherited. 

Why spirits should commence to make demon- 
strations in the particular apartment of the hotel 
which we occupied, and that to our great annoyance, 
was a subject of most serious consideration ; and the 
advice which we had received from them requesting 
us to leave the room only made the riddle still more 
perplexing. 

I had a deep and abiding friendship for the 
dead. I loved to think that I might meet with the 
deceased relatives of my Father's household in peace 
and happiness at the close of my earthly life. My 
heart reached out in expressable fondness for the 
Brother whom I had lost, for the Sisters who had 
departed from my association and knowledge in 
death, and as I reflected upon the mysterious events 
of the day, while engaged in selling tickets to our 
patrons on that memorable evening, I resolved as a 
result of much reflection to quietly and privately 
investigate the phenomena to my entire satisfaction, 
should it continue in the room which we occupied. 

Alas! how often are we dissappointed. We 
returned home from the theater at a quarter to 
twelve o'clock that night and at once retired to rest. 
We had no sooner put out the light which we had 
in use, than the spirits commenced their — to us — 



STRANGE PHENOMENA IN SPRINGFIELD, ILL. 137 

untimely operations. Rappings were made in various 
places about our apartment, but being of a gentle 
nature — although somewhat undesirable at that par- 
ticular time of night — we bore their intrusive 
presence and noise without complaint, and soon 
slept as soundly, perhaps, as if our unseen visitors 
had made no demonstrations at all. 

The idea that the spirits should manifest them- 
selves by "sounds'' whenever they saw fit, and espe- 
cially when we didn't want them to — and that 
seemed to be their hobby — was a purpose to me 
abusive of every righteous principle of wisdom, and 
wholly inconsistent with that goodness, kindness, 
generosity or friendly feeling, which men exercise 
and display toward one another. 

When I asked the spirits to desist from rapping 
in the darkness, they very pugnaciously replied by 
louder and more numerous noise?. The doctrine of evi' 
spirits, in the absolute, was to my mind very repugnant. 
That men were crafty, cunning, malicious and design- 
ing, I well knew; but that spirits were inherently 
more so, or that they were malignantly inclined at 
any time, or in any particular, was to me a thought 
as insecure and objectionable as it was unhappy. 
Then again another inquiry arose in my mind ; it 
was this: "Would my good Angel Brother and 
Sisters, or the better class of spirits — supj:)Osing dis- 
tinctions to exist among them — permit a dastardly 
and impertinent abuse of every just rule of quiet and 
loving relationship and communion, when the plain, 
honest, sincere purposes of unalloyed friendship and 
truth are ever more commended and much more 
acceptable?'" 



138 STRANGE PHENOMENA IN SPRINGFIELD, ILL. 

I was aware that many tribes and nations in 
different portions of the earth were low, degraded 
and viciously inclined, but I had no idea that they 
could or would come to us after death and molest 
our sacred personal rights. For I thought, that 
if the principle or doctrine of -'angel ministration" 
was correct or even needful, then the family circle 
upon earth must necessarily be defended against in- 
trusion, as well in a heathen land as in a christian 
country, by the near relatives of the deceased. I 
could not think it wise in the works of the Divine 
Author as displayed in the economy of nature to so 
condition man in his rudamental existence, as to 
make him the subject of torment and distress from 
a world or sphere inhabited by unseen beings. Other 
reasons were surely to be assigned as the cause 
of spirit insincerity, captiousness and cupidity. 

It was evident that the spirits could answer 
questions correctly if they felt inclined to do so, as 
they did in this instance without a single failure 
whenever I inquired if we should leave our lodgings. 

But wherefore should they insist upon our vacat- 
ing a room which we paid for weekly, and which 
was in every way cozy and comfortable. There was 
a mischief somewhere. We concluded to patiently 
wait and learn further concerning the matter through 
quiet and private examination and consideration 
of the whole subject. 

During the second day the sounds occurred but 
only at our request. We examined the room, but 
found no cause for the raps. I looked into the cel- 
lar, and found the noises could not proceed from 



STRANGE PHENOMENA IN SPRINGFIELD, ILL. 139 

that quarter, as there was all of ten inches of water 
over its entire bottom, and it furthermore was wholly 
unoccupied as a place of storage or for household 
purposes. 

The second night, as soon as we had retired to 
rest — the light being extinguished — the spirits begun 
their noisy jubulation, this time greatly more to our 
discomfort than previously. I requested them to 
desist from keeping us awake in the night time, re- 
marking that it was our misfortune to be kept up 
quite late in the evening in the pursuit of our busi- 
ness, and that we needed the few hours repose which 
we could secure between midnight and morning. 

The spirits disregarding our desires as well as 
requests, played merry hob about the room by ham- 
mering first upon this thing and then upon that, until 
finally a sound like a pistol shot startled my nerves, 
when I arose from my bed, lit a light, and became 
as turbulent as a hornet, because the invisible scamps, 
as I called them, would'nt stop their intolerable 
meddlesomeness acd mischief. 

I supposed from the conduct of the spirits that 
they only laughed at my indignation and worryment 
of mind, for while their malevolence — if it may be 
so called — was somewhat abated in the presence of a 
light, and when I was up and about the room, it 
was as determinately resumed when I returned to 
my bed and the light was put out. 

I now began to see that the spirits were in real 
earnest, for I had no sooner returned to my couch 
than a noise like striking with a raw-hide or more 
solid leather whip was repeatedly made on the foot 



140 STRANGE PHENOMENA IN SPRINGFIELD, ILL. 

board of our bedstead and in other portions of the 
room. Kappings and a variety of noises, such as 
scuffling, a sound like a prolonged hiss or whiz, and 
scraping upon the floor and furniture were repeatedly 
heard. I again arose from my bed, lit the lamp, 
which we used and determined to leave it burning 
during the balance of the night. 

I found it difficult to sleep. I was more than 
usually disturbed. I was fully satisfied that the 
"invisibles" did not intend to comply with our 
desires, and that for some reason, more than ordinary, 
they wished us to leave the room. When the morn- 
ing came and the manifestations ceased, I said to my 
companion who was much more annoyed than 
myself at the unreasonable extent to which the 
spirits had carried their frasque. 

"I guess, Delia, I'll quietly ask the landlord for 
another room. It's not a very happy privilege to 
remain in an apartment haunted by knowing and 
truculent ghosts, and rather than do so, I would 
willingly accept a less comfortable place." 

"Yes," said she, "I think we'd better change our 
quarters. But perhaps they won't allow us to remain 
in the house." 

'0, I guess they will," I replied, "I don't think, 
they claim to control the entire hotel. They have 
some special liking to this particular room, and I 
guess, we'll be more contented when we have given 
them full possession." 

Delia smiled, and as she did so, I observed that 
she seemed to be deeply engaged in thinking. All 
at once collecting her thoughts, she looked at me 
and remarked: 



STRANGE PHENOMENA IN SPRINGFIELD, ILL. 141 

"When the irish chamber-girl came into our 
apartment yesterday — you being absent — to perform 
her usual labor, I inquired of her if she knew any- 
thing about the handlord's family, when she somewhat 
hastily answered : 

"Indade, I do, and the mischief is in it sure." 

"Well," said I, "we've heard some very strange 
noises in our room since we came here." 

"Yes, ma'am, the divel is all about the house. 
The ould muther is as crazed as a bat, and the land- 
lathy of the house is'nt much bether." 

My wife was so delighted with the irish girl's 
facetious manner of expressing herself, that she went 
into a hearty laugh as she related what she had 
said. 

I, of course, could not help joining in her mirth- 
ful happiness, and so we laughed together, until our 
"weight of woe" became lightened by temporarily 
forgetting a sister's troubles, and our own misfortunes 
and displeasures. 

After breakfast was over on the morning to 
which 1 have referred, and after the spirits had kept 
myself and companion awake during an entire night, 
b> thumping and banging about our apartment, I 
went to the landlord, and without much heart in 
my enterprise, remarked to him that I wished a 
room up stair? ; that the one which we occupied was 
dark and dismal and not well suited to please us. 

1 noticed a very suggestive look, expressed 
through the eyes and in the countenance of Mr. 
Trowbridge, as 1 introduced the subject of the un- 
pleasantness of our apartment. It was evident from 



142 DR. BELL 8 STATEMENT. 

his peculiar silence as well as his actions that he 
was. not without a knowlege of the existence of the 
phenomena which had annoyed us, but which I had 
concluded not to mention, unless compelled to by 
circumstances. 

We were immediately shown to a long, narrow 
room, on the second floor of the hotel, and during 
the remaining time that we boarded at the New 
England House we were never troubled by the 
spirits. 



CHAPTEE XII. 



DE. BELL'S STATEMENT, WITH THOUGHTS 

CONCEENING THE SPEINGFIELD DEMON- 

STEATIONS. 



While living in the City of Springfield, and sub- 
sequently to the occurrence of the events which I 
have thus briefly related, I made the acquaintance 
of a gentleman residing in that place by the name 



DR. bell's statement. 143 

of Dr. Bell, whom we afterwards received as our fa- 
mily physician, and with whom I soon became some- 
what familiar as a friend and medical adviser. 

Upon one occasion he called at the hotel where 
we were stopping, to make us a visit. While engaged 
in conversation at that time, I inadvertantly re- 
ferred to the trouble which we had had with the 
spirits in the room at first occupied by myself and 
family in the house. After listening to my recital 
of the principal facts in the case he said : 

"Perhapa I can tell you something that will aid 
you in accounting for the singular demonstrations 
of which you speak. ' 

"Well," said I, "any information which will 
enable me to reach a knowledge of that mystery 
will be very acceptable." 

After a moment's reflection he began by saying : 

"Some time during the early part of last winter, 
Mr. Wade, the proprietor — at that time — of the New 
England House, and father-in-law of Mr. Trowbridge, 
who is now your landlord, had the misfortune to 
push or throw his son, a young man, then some 
sixteen or seventeen years old, out of the back door 
of the hotel. It being very slippery at the time, he 
fell upon his head and fractured his skull. He was 
brought into the house, and during the time which 
intervened previous to his death — which occurred soon 
after — he occupied the identical room wherein you 
and your family were at first situated. I attended 
the young man during his sickness which lasted some 
time, and done all I could to alleviate his sufferings. 
During the period of his illness he manifested con- 



14:4: DR. bell's statement. 

stant symptoms of mental derangement, and these 
increased toward the last, — probably as a result 
of accompanying fever — until he became the subject 
of raving madness. He swore and cursed and tore 
his hair, and was truly a woeful object of willful 
anger and wicked utterance. He died while heaping 
epithets and curses upon everything and everybody 
about him." 

"Well," said I, "Doctor, that was indeed a very 
unhappy circumstance. I am really thankful for 
your statement of facts in regard to, the matter. 
The manifestations w T hich the spirits improvised in 
that room while we remained in it, were truly both 
willful and wonderful. My wife said that she was 
unhappy from the moment she entered the hotel, 
and even after we had changed our apartment, and 
the spirits no longer molested our peace, the same 
unpleasant feeling continued for some time to linger 
over our joy and composure. Owing to the circum- 
stance however that we were connected with the 
theater here, or thinking that the kindly feeling 
of the public toward her as a danseuse and actress 
might be injured were these things to become known, 
we have thus far thought it prudent to make no 
mention of the matter, not even to the landlord, his 
family, or those connected with our own company." 

The doctor smiled as he remarked my discretion, 
and said : 

"I guess you won't be troubled any more by the 
ghosts." 

"I hope not," I replied, "the pleasure to be de- 
rived from their company, especially when "turbulent," 



THOUGHTS. 145 

is not equal to the misery which they are sure to 
inflict. For once in my life, Doctor, I must confess, 
I have found the spirits "in their devices" very 
unceremonious, if not deeply committed to the pur- 
suit of "wicked ways." They drove us out of our 
comfortable quarters, don't you believe, and I think 
it was a most heartless piece of business, so much 
so that I've given up all hope of ever correcting 
their "dubious moral characteristics." 

The doctor laughed outright at my facetious 
way of expressing myself on the subject of the abuse 
which we had received from the invisible occupants 
of our snug little chamber below, but when his 
mirthful feelings had somewhat subsided, he very 
wisely remarked: 

"Spirits, allowing that they exist, may not 
always choose life in wisdom." 

At this point in our conversation some one 
rapped at our door, and the half hours agreeable 
chit-chat which we had enjoyed together was ended. 

The reader will undoubtedly observe from the 
account which I have herein given of my experience 
with the spirits in the New England House that I 
was not pleased with their demonstrations or con- 
duct. They manifested an uncomely principle of intel- 
ligence. In fact, every peculiarity exhibited in their 
deportment was strangely unreasonable and mischie- 
vously annoying. The room was what most persons 
would denominate a "haunted chamber." To me it 
was a place of unrest. I had no fear of ghosts, hob- 
goblins or spooks, but I had no desire to quarrel 
with the dead, and I was well aware that they had 



146 THOUGHTS. 

every advantage of me by being unseen. Hence I 
concluded to retreat from the field of conflict and 
give the spirits their satisfaction in victory. 

But laying all jokes aside, and putting every 
feeling of malice beneath our feet, there are still 
several important problems which demand our con- 
sideration as a consequence of the development of this 
marvelous phenomena and its singular characteristics. 
We are not prepared to say who it was that caused 
the strange noises which induced us to leave our 
room, but we are prepared to say that they were 
produced as a result of known conditions, and were 
under the direction of ' 'intelligent mind; ;" for questions 
were not only answered, but a discretion, deep and 
self-chosen was evinced in every reply. The whole 
transaction afforded irrefutable evidence of the exi- 
stence of invisible beings, who were possessed of per- 
sonal thought, power to act, motives held in abey- 
ance of reflection and purposes which were carried 
into practical effect through the illuminating power 
of reason. 

Whether it was the boy who died so unhappily 
through intoxication and anger, having inherited as 
well a malicious disposition to begin with, was a 
question which to me was not to be hastily decided, 
yet one concerning which I presumed any person 
might properly entertain an opinion of their own. 
In my judgment it was manifest that if the. young 
man died in a state of mental derangement and mi- 
sery, his freedom from disease through relief in death 
must very soon enable his mind to return to the 
exercise of calmness and consideration, as in the 
ordinary condition of outward life. 



THOUGHTS. 147 

This circumstance taken in connection with the 
fact of the individual guardianship of spirits, I con- 
cluded, must tend to convince the thoughtful that 
either no hostile purpose was intended, or else as a 
family or personal provision the principle of spirit 
ministration was surely involved in doubts and un- 
certainties, if not implicated in unrighteousness. 

It was quite evident from the unwelcome phase 
which the demonstrations had assumed in this in- 
stance, that the spirit was either displeased and in- 
clined to retaliate for having had to suffer a premat- 
ure death through a most unhappy combination 
of circumstances, or else on the other hand inate 
maliciousness of mind was the prompting cause of the 
persistent raps and noises which were made in dis- 
obedience of my kindly request to the contrary. 

It was manifest that familiarity in mental com- 
merce was not desired by the "invisibles," and it was 
quite as demonstrable that they were evil-possessed 
in the absoluteness of their determination and the 
pursuit of the ill chosen object which they held in 
view. I was satisfied from what had occurred in 
our room that the passions of the soul, still continued 
to hold their jubilee of malice beyond the grave, or 
else the conclusion could not be avoided that deliber- 
ately calculated mischief was a thing justified in 
super-terrestrial circles of life and society. 

It had ever been my joy to think well of spirits, 
and it was with a feeling of mental oppression that 
I regarded this remarkable occurrance. I wanted to 
believe that the dead were good, wise, just, consider- 
ate and kind. That my own near relatives in 



148 THOUGHTS. 

immortality were not only happy, but that they 
were well disposed and still retained a heart in com- 
mon with our better desires and knowledge. But 
my thoughts were shaken. I contemplated the 
subject of spirit life with more concern, with more 
serious apprehension than ever before. The rule which 
I had adopted to think spirits "not evil," not mis- 
chievous, nor inclined to be intrusive, was broken. 
I could no longer accept the idea of personal 
perfection as based upon or as resulting from 
physical dissolution. Spirits I conceded might justify 
their conceits and foibles as needful in self-interest, 
but as mortals we are only supposed to judge "from 
what we know," and the same in matters of morality 
and righteousness, as in those of immortality, injustice 
or wickedness. It is. not within the power or province 
of the human mind to comprehend the laws or mo- 
tives by which spirits are governed; but it is within 
the measure of our wisdom to refuse to accept or pa- 
tronize a condition of things which to us appears need- 
less, ignominious or justifiable only in a state of exi- 
stence of which we have no definite understanding. 

It was not my pleasure to think that for any 
reason, the dead would return to speak with mor- 
tals — or if not to speak, to silently mystify a commerce 
of thought or phenomena, as between themselves and 
us — by hampering rules destructive of all satisfaction, 
if not of that felicity which all mankind seek to 
enjoy in reaching forward to an understanding 
of the "future life," and the condition of those whom 
we have loved, and who have found their reward 
therein. 



THOUGHTS. 149 

As I have hereinbefore hinted, several very 
important questions arose in my mind as a result 
of the phenomena which took place in our apartment 
in the Xew England House. The idea of physical 
contact being necessary to the production of the 
noises was clearly refuted. A mediumship did not 
exist. The manifestations came wholly unsolicited, 
and were indeed a part of the free performance ac- 
corded to the various occupants of that particular 
room. 

Then again as to how the spirits could cause 
such a diversity of sonorous sounds, their very produc- 
tion implying a knowledge of laws wholly unknown 
to the wisest earthly minds, was a matter of serious 
thought. And yet this was not all, for the inquiry, 
"where were the spirits," was a more perplexing 
problem and one which I earnestly labored to com- 
prehend. 

I did not think it possible for them to be in the 
room, and still it was quite as difficult for me to 
believe that they were far from the locality where 
they were operating, I was quite certain that they 
must have a fixed situation or position somewhere, 
and it was equally as evident that for them to be 
able to exercise such wondrous power, required not 
only reflection, memory and calculation, but implied 
the necessity of some form of mental if not of mater- 
ial organization. 

As to the manner, in which the raps and noises 
were produced I was also wholly at a loss to discern. 
I was aware that the laws termed accoustic were 
involved in the development and propagation of all 



150 THOUGHTS. 

sound, and that the atmosphere was its principal 
medium. But how sounds could be caused, or the 
atmosphere vibrated without the occilating effect 
of some sonorous body, was a question quite as per- 
plexing as it was unsafe to answer. 

The captiousness of the spirits was also a sub- 
ject of serious reflection. "If it is not within the 
limit of desire for the "invisibles" to return in a 
peaceful way," thought I, "and it is their purpose to 
annoy and torment families and individuals by insin- 
cere and fickle methods of manifestation, wherefore 
should we be serious, considerate, kind and loving 
toward them." 

My brother had been dead at the time of the 
occurrence of the Springfield demonstrations herein 
narrated just ten years, and I concluded — believing 
him to be my Guardian Watcher — that he was 
either unable to prevent the newly arisen spirit 
of Young Wade,* from pursuing a mischievous pur- 
pose in his ultra-mundane life, which purpose was 
provoked as a result of very unfortunate conditions 
and circumstances upon earth, that he was not 
willing to interpose his will in behalf of the peace 
of myself and family, that he could not control my 
spiritual interests — I being the ward of his protecting 
care — in the society and household where I was 
living, or on the other hand his life was not what I 
had been led to desire, and I could do nothing less 
than hold him accountable for being implicated in 
an unpleasant if not reprehensible transaction. 

*I think the given name was Lambert, of this I am not certain. 



THOUGHTS. 151 

Thus I reasoned concerning this singular phe- 
nomena, and although my individual views are to 
day, some sixteen years after its occurrence, greatly 
changed, the convictions which I then formed were 
not impertinent to the facts established, neither so 
easy of disproval as many worthy thinkers might 
suppose; for notwithstanding absolute knowledge 
was in this, as it is in many other cases, seemingly 
unattainable, still it must be conceded that the 
evidence disclosed tended to substantiate opinions 
identical with those to which I have herein given 
expression, and moreover it is universally acknowl- 
edged that the analogical and synthetical processes 
of thought and consideration — the only means to be 
employed in the attainment of knowledge in a case 
like this — are not only reliable as a basis for the 
support of ultimate opinions, but equally so far the 
founding of a final judgment upon any subject 
whatsoever, 



152 POPULAR PREJUDICES. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



POPULAE PEEJUDICES. MISS IEISH, THE 
MEDIUM. 



Some time toward the close of the month 
of February, in the year 1859, Mr. Charles Fisher, a 
personal friend of my Father's family, and who lived 
in Victor, Ontario County, New York, where we 
then likewise resided, came to our house in the 
absence of myself and wife, being accompanied by a 
"rapping medium" whose acquaintance he had formed 
in the City of Eochester, where she had been en- 
gaged in giving public seances in private families. 

The medium's name was Miss Sarah J. Irish. 
She was a person whose features and personal 
appearance were somewhat unhappily attuned to the 
objects of hasty familiarity or friendship, yet the 
prominent characteristic of her life which was a medium- 
ship for "physical manifestations," more than usually 
wondrous, tended in a measure to qualify her less 
flattering peculiarities, and cause her to be accept- 



POPULAR PREJUDICES. 153 

ed where otherwise she would not have been 
cordially received. 

Mr. Fisher had called at our residence to secure 
accommodation for the Medium, who was engaged in 
giving public < ; sittings" and exhibitions of " spirit 
rapping" as a means of gaining a livelihood, and 
of convincing investigators of the truth of the im- 
mortality of the human soul, and the possibility 
of spiritual intercourse — knowing also that I was 
soon to return home, and that I still had a desire to 
more thoroughly examine the subject of spiritualism 
in its physical aspects and phases. Indeed, Brother 
•Fisher and myself were mutually interested in seek- 
ing for a knowlege of the cause and value of the 
11 mysterious manifestations," and of better deciding 
the question of the righteousness of our fealty to the 
doctrines and teachings of the u K"ew Philosophy," 
which was then being freely discussed by many wise 
and worthy thinker both in Europe and America. 

Mr. Fisher had released himself from the domin- 
eering influence of early sectarian schooling, and was 
sincerely devoted to a belief in the general principles 
of spiritualism ; but as in my own experience he had 
met with an insincere and studied opposition to the 
views which he entertained and sought to advance, 
and as this obstinacy of the public mind arose from 
causes over which no mortal could wield the least 
control, it was apparent to him as well as to my- 
self that to be self-just, required either personal 
silence or the exercise of ample circumspection in the 
promulgation or advocacy of ideas and opinions upon 
a subject at once so new and irresponsible. 



154 POPULAR PREJUDICES. 

Spiritualism was as yet extremely unpopular, and 
to seek its gospel openly, was by many still regarded 
as a criminal offense against the staid "tenets of 
faith" which slumbered so watchfully in the uphols- 
tered christian synagogues of the land. Jeers and 
sneers were often heaped upon our devoted desires 
and belief, and unfeeling epithets were freely used 
by those who claimed to represent in practice the 
doctrines of Love and Forbearance. 

It required courage to meet the pugnacious and 
dominating ideas of the then existing, shy and crafty 
opposition. I was more taciturn of mind, yet not 
less determined in the purposes of my knowledge 
concerning spiritualism, than my friend and brother 
Mr. Fisher. We had with others plowed the first 
furrows in the new field of "immortal enterprise," 
and we smiled when the old fogies in religious 
assumption said that they would "laugh us out of our 
opinions." Sometimes they got caught in the mire 
of their own mistakes by a slippery argument, then 
again we got a rebuff by a period from the pen 
of some owlish monk, secreted behind his latinized 
Euphonisms and sententious remarks. 

Spirit manifestations we were fearless to investi- 
gate. Not everything did we accept; but using our 
best discretion, we received those facts and arguments 
which were self-supporting and undeniable, never for- 
bidding ourselves the righteous privilege of seeking 
for information, even though at the cost of a "pre- 
vailing sense of propriety." 

We pursued our purpose under the instigation 
of a belief in self -consent. Knowing that men con- 



POPULAR PREJUDICES. 155 

nived at justice, lauded mothered godlessness in high 
places, and fingered the dirt of wealth to shy the 
logic of mental aprisal, we thought that a search for 
the "treasures of knowledge," when supported by 
manliness and true honor, should be permitted in 
friendship, and commended as personally unharmful. 

But community said "no." The deacons of our 
christian fatherhood must consider and settle all 
important questions. The "Devil" is the "guard 
of unrighteousness," and must be looked after. He 
is the "despoiler," and spiritualism with many other 
new-fangled notions are "of his consent." 

Thus we bore the burthen of our own opinions, 
studied our own proprieties, and while we sought to 
impose our convictions upon no person, we, at the 
same time, availed ourselves of many opportunities 
to disseminate the views which we entertained and 
cherished. It was not so much our regard for our 
personal sentiments, or special devotion to the 
"spiritual philosophy," that provoked a determination 
on our part to advance our own ideas and sentiments, 
as it was our purpose to maintain the admirable 
principle of the "right of private judgment," a 
doctrine taught by every wise and unselfish protest- 
ant christian since the days of the Lutherean 
reformation. 

Spiritualism was to us not a perfect system 
of philosophy, but a promising school of ethics, well 
calculated to elevate our thoughts, enhance the value 
and increase the amount of our knowledge. It 
recognized the "law of progress," and supported the 
utmost "freedom of thought." No hampering rules 



156 POPULAR PREJUDICES. 

or arbitrary conditions were imposed upon those who 
sought consolation from its teachings. It was a 
source of joy to the heart, of satisfaction to the 
understanding, and was "nature's own religion." It 
taught us that we were immortal; that mind lived 
in the enjoyment of self-conscious life forever; that 
the translated soul was still, itself in all things which 
pertained to individuality in existence. 

From the investigation of spiritualism we obtain- 
ed direct and irrefutable evidence of the immortality 
of the soul. It was no guess-work. The departed 
returned to speak with mortals by their own per- 
mission. The methods adopted by the spirits in their 
communion with us were not, perhaps, always suited 
to our pleasure, but the fact, the certainty of spiritual 
intercourse was by these processes clearly demon- 
strated. The ifs and the ands were omitted. Our 
relatives and the countless hosts of earth's departed 
children were by the modes employed clearly reveal- 
ed to our recognition, although in mystery. 

Proprietitious church members adviced us to let 
spiritualism alone. Our circumstances rendered it 
necessary that we should in part hoodwink our own 
opinions. But like the author of the idea of the 
earth's rotary motion, we presumed to be stubborn 
in our well-founded views, and howbeit the gag-i-last- 
ting objections of old fogies, and men of settled and 
unalterable convictions, we did occasionally give 
utterance to the expressions "the world moves," 
"spiritualism is true," or something to that effect. 

We were invited by the churches to relinquish 
our faith. The Presbytereans, straight-jacketed in 



POPULAR PREJUDICES. 157 

all things, sought to direct us in the "narrow path," 
which those of " their lessons" were said to follow in 
their journey to the "kingdom of heaven." The 
Methodists commending themselves as the "chosen 
authority" in "scriptural interpretation," and falling 
into jubulations of psychology under the name 
of "religious revivals," sought our "salvation," advising 
us that there was uncertainty in regard to our 
safety in the future, if we did not "repent of our 
sins." The Universalists usually accounted a "liberal 
religious sect," in their "holy mission of love" sought 
to protect us in our worship, but through inadvert- 
ancy, priestcraft or bewilderment of mind, they 
suddenly forgot a worthy precept in the catalogue 
of "christian virtues," and refusing us even the 
hope, the consolation which we derived from the 
use of the humble basement of their "crumbling 
edifice," gave us the "highly exampled" privilege 
of outdoor worship. 

Between these and other contending religious 
forces and factions, which were also mutually 
watchful of each other's cares and interests, espec- 
ially when what they considered "foreign aggression" 
seemed eminent, we found our spiritual "faith" a 
burthensome object of personal solicitude. But not- 
withstanding the interposing obstacles and the 
ill-adviced opposition which the churchiological 
sadducees of modern manacled thought saw fit to 
manifest toward us, we cheerfully hummed the merry 
song of "joy be with thee," nor heeded the outcry 
of "humbug" the ever unmeaning epithet, to fre- 
quently employed in derision of subjects the most 
worthy and truths the most startling and grand. 



158 MISS IRISH, THE MEDIUM. 

In the absence of myself and companion the me- 
dium had remained at my Father's house, which was 
also our home, some seven or eight days. Upon our 
return, however, we found that she had gone to the 
City of Syracuse, but with a distinct understanding 
that she would remain absent only for a short time. 

"Who is Miss Irish," said I to my Mother, who 
had been engaged in conversation with my wife con- 
cerning the medium and the rappings soon after our 
arrival, "who is she; where did she come from, or 
what are her personal antecedents?" 

" Well, "she replied, "according to her own story she 
originally came from the South, has lived in Virgi- 
nia, and more recently in this State. Her parents 
are not living. She has for some years gained a 
livelihood by giving exhibitions of spirit rapping in 
]STew York, Washington and other cities. A few 
weeks ago she came to Syracuse, and thence to Ko- 
chester. While stopping at Mr. Isaac Post's in the 
latter city, Mr. Fisher happened to make her ac- 
quaintance, and thus invited her to his house." 

"What is the appearance of the woman?" said 
I, continuing my inquiries, "what sort of a person is 
she? How does she look?" 

My mother smiled as she remarked: 

"She's a person of fair and slender form, but 
of awful homely features. She is of dark complexion, 
possessing large, staring and repulsive black eyes, is 
somewhat awkward in her manners, and on the 
whole not a person of attractive look or demeanor. 
While she seemed very kind and pleasant, there was 
at the same time something about her which was 



MISS IRISH, THE MEDIUM. 159 

extremely forbidding, and on the whole I am not 
prepossessed in her favor." 

"Well," said I, "she's a good medium, is she?" 

"Indeed, she is," was the firm answer, "she gives 
entire satisfaction. The rappings are loud and dis- 
tinct in her presence, and she writes communications 
with great rapidity. These she obtains by repeating 
the "printer's alphabet," the letters composing the 
words employed being each indicated by a distinct 
rap." 

My Mother's only complaint seemed to be that 
the medium was ill-looking, and somewhat inclined 
to equivocate ad defensio personum in conversation, 
which to her was not altogether a commendable 
characteristic. 

"We are always in more or less doubt," she re- 
marked, "about the worthiness of a person with 
whom we are not intimately acquainted, and it often 
requires some time to reach or fathom the peculiar- 
ities of those with whom we are not familiar." 

"Yes," said I, "but human imperfection is, in my 
judgment, one of the Divine purposes of creation, and 
the faults and mistakes of life, like homely forms or 
distorted features, are not so much deserving of re- 
buke as of wise and charitable consideration." 

"A world of woe is our world," remarked my 
Father, "self-selected propriety is nature's own. In 
matters of righteousness we are all selfish judges. It 
is only when personal faults have "burned themselves 
to purity" that the individual knows how to justly 
appreciate the "better way." 

"We would not refuse to confer with a lunatic" 



160 MISS IRISH, THE MEDIUM. 

said I, " if it served our coffers : why should we re- 
fuse to learn wisdom, even though its source be in- 
termixed with repugnant opportunities. The gift 
of knowledge is usually greatest with those who seek 
no fastidious refuge from the defects and follies 
which beset humanity. For my part I shall be glad 
to have the medium return, that I may hear the 
rappings and acquire a deeper insight into the cause 
of spiritualism." 

"If Miss Irish is a good medium" continued I 
after a moment's thought, that's the most we could 
desire. The probabilities are that her being at our 
house will create a little "mischievous gossip" among 
our more talkative neighbors, but so far as that is 
concerned we may bear a moiety of abuse with com- 
posure, and I am satisfied that to do so is a sure 
guarantee for the ultimate correction of individual 
impertinence and uncharitableness in community. 
If we should suffer a little at the hands of the 
public on account of spiritualism, or in seeking the 
"good of the future" in "ways not commended," 
perhaps we may receive our reward in the intel- 
ligence which we shall gain. For my part I am 
greatly disposed to pilot my own canoe, and guage 
the fitness of my own conduct In life, and I have 
but little faith in the hatched-up every-day ideas 
of propriety, which inhere in the hetcheled relation- 
ships of society in country towns. 

I still have a wish to investigate this most 
singular phenomena, a wish to know the extent 
of its truth, and whether it is a cause worthy of our 
fullest confidence and esteem. If man is immortal, 



MISS IRISH, THE MEDIUM. 161 

and the fact can be rendered comprehensible to the 
human intellect, it is the most wondrous discovery 
ever given to satisfy the longings of the soul. 
Spiritualism, it is true, is quite unpopular; but 
what new idea, development, or manifestation 
was ever honored in its juvenescent life. Men are 
prompted by selfish motives. Honor and honesty 
are abetted. The truth itself is hoodwinked, and 
righteousness becomes pretentious. Sincerity is wast- 
ed in animadversions, bickering deception and over- 
done measures of policy, while human happiness is a 
condition chosen in selfishness and measured by 
wealth. 

To me spiritualism is true, I still love those 
dear ones who have closed their terrestrial pilgrimage, 
and who promoted in being still live to be blessed 
in realms of the unseen and the immortal. If it is a 
fault to love the departed, then that fault is mine. 
If spirits malign their own goodness or wisdom by 
an imperfect selection of media, then theirs is the 
punishment, as also the defeat. Spirits may not 
always be just, considerate or worthy, but being 
thoughtful ourselves, reasonable, and on our guard 
as against the encroachments of wrong, even as we 
would in dealing with men, so may we avoid any 
unhallowed spirit influence with which we may meet 
or have to contend. 

The laws of life are with us, and we are all 
subject to their action. The spirit leaves the body 
quickly. Wherefore is it so changed that we may 
not know of its life or destiny ? All men are greatly 
alike in their physical natures, in their mental as 



162 

well. The same correspondence must exist in spirit 
life. The Hottentot is not less safely formed in body 
and mind than the "proud Caucasean." Modern 
christians are at fault in making selection of souls 
for heaven, and consignment of other souls to regions 
of distress and wretchedness. If God permits man 
to live in comparative happiness upon earth, in 
varied complexion, form and feature, in savagism, 
barbarism, civilization and freedom, why should he 
be less benevolent in the future immortal sphere? 
We can award no curse to the productions of the 
Supreme Author. Our social distinctions and local 
hatreds, while perhaps natural to our circumstances, 
state of progress and intelligence, cannot be justly 
said to be inimical to an ultimate and wise purpose 
in the Divine economy of creation. 

The spirits may not choose a person to do their 
work whom I would choose. They may have dis- 
covered that nature does not forbid even the "vile 
and wretched/' much less those who are the subjects 
of unstudied mistakes and faults. Jesus said to the 
malefactors who were crucified beside him: 

"To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise." 

Now, if it be true that heaven forbids not the 
wrong-doer, why should we not think it best to 
labor for the correction of the defects, follies, and 
wickedness by which we are surrounded, rather than 
shrug our shoulders and evade all contact there- 
with. 

The world is full of wretchedness, our cities are 
a malstrom of mischief, deceitful motives in trade, 
high-handed outrages in financial transactions, and 



MISS IRISH, THE MEDIUM. 163 

pillage and theft by the poor, are too common to be 
made the exception to a principle of honor, and 
hence must be regarded as a general purpose, 
unhappily observed as actuating, prompting, and 
governing hundreds and thousands of persons in 
every day life. 

Twenty thousand homeless females are said to 
wander by night in the streets of New York city alone, 
to barter away their comliness of being for the moiety 
required in life's daily support. Clerks and agents 
purloin from the means intrusted to their care. 
Bail-road conductors enrich themselves from perquis- 
ites never self-denied. "Bed-tape" and "shoddy" are 
the world's arbitrament. Both the success and 
happiness of life are too often secured through 
human abasement, misery and suffering. 

In view of these facts, who is to settle the ques- 
tion of individual righteousness? The person of 
agreeable manners, good looks and pleasant speech 
may be too deeply gifted in deceit for our discern- 
ment. The well dressed falsifier knows his advant- 
age, and through artful maneuvering, comly suavity 
and palaver, sells the honest, unsuspecting man out 
to a disadvantage with a sang froid. 

Experience is always a personal blessing. It 
confers everlasting benefits. If we are cheated once, 
the second time we are not to be caught. We be- 
come more watchful, more circumspect. It developes 
our individuality, engenders thought, and substan- 
tiates life's rewards. I have not as much fear of per- 
sonal injury from mediumistic contact, as I have 
of the inadvertent gossip of many of my friends and 



164 MISS IRISH, THE MEDIUM. 

neighbors, and the unfeeling solicitude which they 
too often manifest for my individual welfare. I have 
seen several years of travel, have met and studied 
the peculiarities of men and women in various posi- 
tions in society, and I must say, that if nature trans- 
mits its own, it would not be surprising if we should 
discover a little cupidity or maleficience in life among 
the residents of the aereal world, as well as upon 
earth." 

Thus we freely conversed together in our family 
circle at home concerning spiritualism, the rappings 
and public sentiment, as it was likely to develope 
itself, should Miss Irish return and continue her 
seances at our house. 

So far as I was personally concerned, I was de- 
termined to avail myself of every opportunity to in- 
vestigate the phenomena of spiritualism, in order to 
satisfy my desire in regard to an understanding 
of its cause, and to reach, if possible, a knowledge 
of the laws involved in its production, to determine 
likewise, whether it resulted from the action of spi- 
rits, or was a manifestation of some hitherto un- 
known law of life. 

I felt no inclination to treat the subject with 
derision. It was too serious a matter. I had con- 
sidered my immortal interests for more than twenty 
years, yet had never fully substantiated the belief 
which I entertained. Positive knowledge was needed 
and that I resolved to seek for and find. 



CONVICTIONS. 165 



OEE^l^TER XIV. 



CONVICTIONS. PEIVATE SEANCES AND 
FKIENDLY MESSAGES FKOM THE UNSEEN. 



Od Thursday, the twenty-eighth day of February, 
in the year 1859. while I was absent from home 
during a part of the day, the Medium, Miss Irish, 
returned from her journey to the City of Syracuse, 
and when I arrived soon after, I found her seated in 
our sitting room and engaged in a pleasant conversa- 
tion with my wife and mother. 

Stepping into the apartment where they were, I 
was at once introduced and soon became a partici- 
pant in the social chit-chat which was going on. 

I had concluded to search the "deep profound" 
pertaining to the lady's characteristics. I rambled in 
reflection to find subjects of worthy interest to con- 
verse about. I sought to fathom her individual pecu- 
liarities as a beginning in the investigation of her 
claims to spiritual mediumship. I studied her motives, 
considered her actions, weighed her words, measured 



166 CONVICTIONS. 

her thoughts, and contemplated the value of every 
feature represented in her daily life. 

That the woman was inadvertently mischievous 
was apparent. That she was awful homely, as my 
mother said, was a truth which no one could possibly 
deny. That she was a person of good heart, gen- 
erous, kind, and confiding, with a strong disposition 
to cooly avenge real or fancied personal injuries, was 
also manifest. She was of very dark complexion, a 
brunette, with black eyes as wondrous in their size 
and appearance, as they were evidently the source 
of her greatest mental ability. 

After conversing with her for an hour or more, 
I concluded that like all mortals she lived in imper- 
fection, and supported her own defects. She had 
lived in Louisiana in her childhood, had subsequently 
found a home in Virginia, was left without parents, 
and ultimately cast upon her own resources to secure 
a livelihood. At all events such was the story which 
she gave concerning herself. 

In her thirteenth year of age she began to hear 
the rappings, and they had continued to accompany 
her from that day onward. She was advised by the 
spirits, followed their counsel, and accepted the mission 
which they saw fit to confer. At her solicitation 
her unseen guardian was ever ready to communicate. 
She had learned to read the printer's alphabet, and 
repeating it with great rapidity, could in a few min- 
tes cover a sheet of foolscap with letters indicated by 
the sounds. During the evening of the day of her 
arrival, our family, together with several other per- 
sons, united in a circle about a large table in our 



PRIVATE SEANCES. 167 

sitting room to listen to the noises and receive such 
messages and answers to questions as the " invisibles" 
might see fit to impart. 

I at once observed that the raps produced in 
the presence of Miss Irish were identical in sound 
with those which I had heard in the Fox Family, 
and later in the room occupied by myself and wife 
in the New England House during our sojourn in 
Springfield, Illinois, but a winter or two previous. 
They were more systematically given however, and 
served a purpose almost telegraphically perfect as a 
means of intercourse with the spirit intelligences who 
claimed to be the cause of their production. 

Nothing could be more orderly. They rapped 
on the table and on the floor. Loud and distinct 
concussions representing a person walking up stairs, 
the footsteps gradually dying away, were repeatedly 
produced. Sounds as of a man sawing off a board with 
a hand-saw, and others like the noise of a plane at 
a carpenter's bench were also heard. Many mental 
questions were asked and answered, all to the 
pleasure and satisfaction of the questioners. A 
message was given to a gentleman who formed one 
of the circle and who was a stranger to all present, 
which purported to come from his father whose name 
together with that of three other deceased members 
of his family were mentioned therein. Upon inquiry 
it was found that the names were all correctly given, 
that every question had been truthfully answered. 
The evidence was overwhelming. The gentleman 
there and then acknowledged his belief in the 
genuineness of the phenomena which he had wit- 



168 PRIVATE SEANCES. 

nessed, and has from that time — now better than 
thirteen years — remained a spiritualist. 

Daring the sitting, which lasted about one hour, 
I interrogated the spirits both by oral and mental 
methods, in order to test their ability, as well as 
their willingness to concede to human desire in the 
matter of social intercourse, and for the purpose 
of studying into and reaching, if possible, a knowl- 
edge of the means employed, and of the motives 
which were engaged in prompting the "immortals" 
to produce the physical manifestations which we 
witnessed. 

In the course of the evening the spirits called 
for the alphabet to be repeated for my benefit, 
when the following brief communication purporting 
to be given by my oldest sister, then some twenty- 
two years deceased, was quickly received: 

"Marcenus, I wish you to know, that we, your 
spirit friends, are ever near you, and enjoying ourselves 
in your society, although by you unseen. Your 
Brother Jacob is most anxious to converse with you. 
I often try to influence Father to write. His spirit 
is coming nearer and nearer to us, as a result of 
mental attraction and the decay of the earth-casket. 
When his mortal career is closed, we — a band of us — 
will be near to welcome his spirit home to our 
sphere. 

I am, dear Brother M., your ever-loving sister 
Caroline, now of the spirit life. I shall often visit 
you." 

After some general conversation in which all 
the members of our little gathering more or less 



PRIVATE SEANCES. 169 

indulged, the alphabet was again called for by the 
spirits, when I at once asked the question : 
"Who is it that wishes to communicate ?" 
To which the spirit at once replied: 
"It is your Brother Jacob and Sister Jennett." 
The sounds were now continued in telegraphic 
order, and the following message was given: 

"I have studied philosophy here, and have 
learned much concerning the Divine law which 
governs the movements of matter in its varied 
forms. The cause of motion in matter, and the law 
of assimulation as represented in the growth of all 
organic forms, are well understood by us. I would 
like to tell you something concerning what we 
observe in nature — looking as we do through its very 
folds — and I would do so were it not that this 
method of communion is so exceedingly tedious, and 
it would be agreeable to you, I too would tell you 
of our sunsets, of our valleys and plains, of our crystal 
streams, of our pavillions, of our manner of constructing 
them, of our mode of travel, and last of all of our 
diving into the earth's atmosphere to visit our 
friends. Of these many subjects which would you 
choose ? I will speak to you of either as best I can 
when opportunity offers. I am still Jacob, your 
loving Brother, but my form is now much smaller 
than it was when I was with you, and I am more 
than twenty-one."* 

The reader will observe in these communications 
something to admire and something to consider. It 

♦Ho died at that age. 
H 



170 PRIVATE SEANCES. 

is a misfortune to spiritualism that the many 
messages received from the other life are not more 
thoroughly criticised. It is a mistake of the heart 
that we do not sift every word and line transmitted 
to us from the spirit world for the meanings 
which they contain. We love our departed friends 
with too much confidence. Our devotion to them 
causes us to neglect a proper analysis of their 
impartations. When men and women become wise, 
discreet, discerning and free from hasty desire, 
impulsive ambition, and selfish motives, then the 
mind, the only arbiter of destiny, will yield a 
reward justly founded in reason and ever safely to 
be accepted. 

I read these little messages from the higher 
life over and over again. It was a concession which 
I had not expected. They contained happy thoughts, 
were suggestive of others, and yet with all I saw not 
the source from whence they came. I had the con- 
fidence to believe that it was my Sister and Brother 
who had thus spoken with me. But where were 
they? How far away? At what point or place? 
These were the thoughts which sought an asylum in 
the province of my more serious reflections. 

Spiritualists, I knew, differed upon this subject, 
some asserting that the soul mounted the heavens 
and lived amid the elements of space; others that 
the mind in its immortal condition wandered among 
the stars, following its own inclinations and delights, 
and going and returning at its pleasure. Then again 
others, basing their conclusions upon their own ideas, 
infered that spirits lived near them, passing out and 



PRIVATE SEANCES. 171 

in their dwellings, through closed doors, brick walls 
and all impedements. The christians not less than 
the spiritualists had their own peculiar notions. Some 
supposing that the soul, immediately after death, 
found a residence with God, a very indefinite and in- 
tangible thesis. Others held to the opinion that the 
good alone were " taken home to Christ," which is 
another undefined proposition, while still another 
class found an equally mysterious place of misery for 
a large portion of the human race. 

The communications which I had received only 
tended to prompt a desire in my mind to grasp, 
if possible, a more definite, reliable and comprehen- 
sive idea concerning the whereabouts of my spirit 
friends. I wished to know where they lived, how 
they lived, and why they lived. The love which I 
had bourne my Spirit-Brother for so many years, 
was kindled into a heart-felt affection by the kindly 
message which had been imparted to my keeping, 
but certain portions thereof were inscrutable to my 
perception, were dark and unfathomable.* I was lost 
to know the how, the why and the wherefore. I could 
not believe without understanding. I desired to 
know, whatever might be the truth in the premises, 
for, thought I, in knowledge only is there satisfaction. 

We continued to hold circles at our residence for 
something like three weeks, during which time many 
strangers came in to satisfy their curiosity, love 
of the marvelous, or for purposes more sincere and 
worthy. The spirits were always prompt in replying 

♦The reader will find the portions here referred to set in Italics. 



172 PRIVATE SEANCES. 

to inquiries, in transmitting messages, and complying 
with the demands of investigators. They never failed. 
The gift of mediumship was most perfect. 

I made myself acquainted with the methods 
adopted by the spirits in answering questions, in 
giving communications, in producing the sounds. I 
soon learned to catch the letters from the lips of the 
medium as she repeated the printer's alphabet. This 
was at first quite difficult, owing to the rapidity 
with which the letters were designated. But I soon 
reached a proficiency in this art which was to me 
quite surprising. 

One evening my Father, who had become some- 
what interested in the rappings, seated himself near 
the medium while we were holding a, seance when his 
elder Brother — in answer to his request — who had 
died in his youth, signified his desire or willingness 
to communicate. The alphabet was at once repeated 
and the following message given : 

"What shall I say, Brother Thomas? I have 
been so long in spirit life that I feel but little 
attraction toward things of mortal consequence. I 
cannot tell you much concerning our condition. Be 
assured that my affection has survived our long 
separation of near half a century, and that I often 
molest my joy by a peaceful observation of your 
cares. I still have the same mechanical tastes which 
gave me so much happiness upon earth, and I find 
that all the knowledge which I gained while there 
— no matter of what kind or nature — proves to my 
advantage here. I cannot say more* 

Your brother, John Wright." 



CONSCIENTIOUS SCRUPLES. 173 



CONSCIENTIOUS SCEOPLES. TEAVELING 
WITH THE SPIEITS. A PEAYEE. 



Miss Irish had been at our house but a few 
days when, as we were seated at breakfast one 
morning, my wife remarked: 

"Marcenus, why dont you take Sarah and go to 
some of the villages near by, and give a few public 
seances? There is sufficient curiosity existing in 
regard to the subject of the rappings, I should think, 
to enable you to make it a paying enterprise. We 
are in need of home comforts and if you could make 
a few dollars in this way, it would help us." 

''Well" said I, "I have no particular objection to 
so doing, but certain I am, that if I go out with 
Sarah, I shall get besmeared all over by all sorts 
of gossip." 

"That may be," she answered, "but you mus'nt 
mind what people say. You can go to a few towns 
within reasonable distance and see what you can do. 
You've been in the show business long enough to 



174 TRAVELING WITH THE SPIRITS. 

know how to manage affairs, and I certainly would 
try. If you will take a horse and buggy and go to 
Macedon, Walworth and Pultneyville, I have no 
doubt but that you will find the friends of spiritual- 
ism willing to receive you and give you aid in your 
undertaking." 

"Well," said I, "the mischief is in it, but I'm as 
poor as a church mouse, and I guess I'll go out for 
a week or two and see if I can make anything by 
it." 

As we sat down in the circle that evening to 
listen to the rappings and converse together the 
following cousel was given by the spirits for my 
benefit : 

"You are about to engage in an occupation 
which will reward you in one sense, but in another 
it will be your misfortune. We shall be with you 
and watch over you in your trials. We shall help 
you through with whatever you undertake, whenever 
it is possible. We shall advice you by impression 
when we can, and when we cannot, by some plainer 
method. At a proper time we will give you such 
needful instruction as to organizing your circles as 
may be required." 

After reflecting for some days upon my wife's 
suggestion to make a public exhibition of the Spirit 
Manifestations as given through the mediumship 
of Miss Irish, and after having made my arrange- 
ments in advance, by letter, for holding seances in 
four different places, I took a carriage and with the 
Medium went out to cancel the engagements which 
I had promised to fulfill. 



TRAVELING WITH THE SPIRITS. 175 

In neither place was I disappointed. The spirits 
were faithful in every particular, and upon every 
occasion. In one public audience some twelve mes- 
sages were given during a single evening, covering 
nearly a sheet of foolscap each, and each containing 
from one to three names of the deceased relatives 
of the persons — strangers — to whom they were given. 

This was one of the finest tests of spirit identity 
which had ever come to my knowledge, and I still 
look upon it as one of the most remarkable upon 
record. Better than twenty names of spirits, once 
mortals, and relatives of persons unknown to the 
medium, and who were present in the audience, were 
given within an hour and twenty minutes, and not a 
single mistake was made. 

Day after day I watched with a critical eye the 
various demonstrations which were given. The spi- 
rits were at all times ready and willing to bestow 
upon us that advice and counsel which was deemed 
essential to our success, and many times to converse 
with us for an half hour or more in kindly intimacy. 
But I noticed that the law of mystery was still the 
arbitrary principle, the controlling motive, deeply in- 
wrought in every design of the " invisibles." When 
pressed with questions which they did not wish to 
answer, they would either remain silent, or in literary 
artfulness reply by well-conceived equivocation. In 
this I discovered wondrous wisdom, and the more I 
considered this singular feature of the phenomena, 
the more surprised I became that those persons who 
had made themselves the most familiar with spirit- 
ualism, had not discovered this ever-uppermost char- 



176 TRAVELING WITH THE SPIRITS. 

acteristic. With some individuals the spirits were 
ever ready to converse; with others tolerably so y 
while with the majority they seemed comparatively 
indifferent, entering into communion only when ur- 
gently solicited. The presence of some persons was 
strangely repugnant, and the spirits would suspend 
intercourse altogether while they were seated in the 
circle.* 

On several occasions the spirits rapped upon my 
boots, also upon my legs while seated by a table > 
and at times upon the open palm of my hand within 
eighteen inches of my eyes. The impression thus 
made was like the sensation which might be felt by 
the precipitation of a soft cotton ball against the 
flesh. I conceived it to be simply an enforced or 
transmitted ball of condensed ethers of an atmos- 
pheric or electric quality, for as these balls of fluid 
atoms came in contact with the flesh of my open 
hand, I realized their flattening tendency and disor- 
ganization. 

While at Pultneyville on the shore of Lake 
Ontario, in Wayne County, New York, where we 
remained some ten days in the family of Mr. 
Randolph Reynolds, a man much respected, of gener- 
ous impulses, and agreeable disposition, and whose 
whole-souled companion — now deceased — was a wo- 
man of nervous inclinations, yet possessed of the 

*It has been supposed by spiritualists that the auric principle enienating 
from some persons prevents "harmonious conditions," and that spirits cannot 
make the manifestations in their presence. I think the future will disclose that 
it is in the knowledge which the immortals possess of us personally th;tt this 
refusal to communicate is made. The closest shades of difference in the mental 
peculiarities of men are to them clearly discernable. Want of sincerity, honesty, 
uprightness, kindness, goodness, sobriety or wisdom 13 by them quickly perceived. 



TRAVELING WITH THE SPIRITS. 177 

kindest heart and the most eminent virtues, I was 
one day impressed to make a respite of my time, 
when leaving the house which was a little cottage 
near the village, I wandered away alone across the 
fields to a distance of some mile or more, and seat- 
ing myself upon a little eminence where stood some 
half-grown ragged pines, I turned my thoughts upon 
the subject of my experience. 

I was sad. The more I contemplated the 
phenomena of spiritualism the deeper became the 
puzzle. I had endeavored to reach bottom in my 
effort to solve the problem of spiritual communion. 
I had succeeded, only for this — the spirits were the 
dictators, and quaintly remarked, "thus far thou 
shalt go and no farther." 

For five consecutive weeks I had watched every 
motive which actuated the medium and governed 
the manifestations. I had kept a record of every 
conversation which I had held with the spirits, 
of every message which I had received — these are 
still in the possession of the author with many 
communications given to other persons — and by 
comparison of fact with fact and circumstance with 
circumstance I knew that I had not sought in vain 
for a knowledge of the truth of the immortality 
of the human soul; but I saw that the captiousness, 
the contradictions, the frequent insincerity and 
straDge peculiarities, the evasive replies made to 
inquiries, and at times the refusal to concede to .the 
requests of individuals, was not, as I had been in a 
measure led to infer, a result growing out of the 
personal ignorance and wickedness of the departed, 



178 TRAVELING WITH THE SPIRITS. 

but of deep perception, design and profound knowl- 
edge in regard to the needs of the world in matters 
pertaining to intercourse with higher spheres, or 
otherwise spirit life was conducive to mental misery 
and misfortune. 

I found that I had gone as far in my investiga- 
tion of the "spirit rappings" as it was desirable to 
proceed. The spirits themselves had set a limit to 
explanations by a rule in deceit — happy answers, 
well-worded, beautifully conceived in thought and 
always very applicable to the question — and when 
pursued in argument either remained silent, or eject- 
ed a score of pleasing sentences to avoid a direct 
issue. 

The Spirits had been familiar with me, had 
counseled me; but my interrogatories, when conceived 
in a feeling of criticism, were artfully evaded. Thus 
I had gone to the end, and I concluded that greater 
concessions to human demand were forbidden by 
some established law governing the dwellers in the 
realms of the invisible, or otherwise, as a result 
of the possession of more exalted wisdom, it was 
deemed impolitic by individual immortals to become 
more intimate with men. 

The medium, although not unmindful of the 
exercise of some of the better qualities of the human 
heart, manifested a strange demeanor, and in her 
appearance was as I infered many times, the objec- 
tion of comers and goers. Only the marvelous 
mystery which attended her, as an agent of unseen 
intelligences, aroused public interest and caused her 
to be accepted with privilege and consideration. 



A PRAYER. 179 

I had studied her characteristics, had measured 
her capacity of mind, viewed her thoughts, consid- 
ered every motive which actuated her in her dealing, 
and in her various conversations, and while it was 
not within the province of my desire to change the 
conditions which were represented in her life and 
mental status, I constantly experienced an unsought 
repugnance to her presence, and wondered why the 
beings of the invisible world chose to employ her in 
the performance of a mission so uninviting, yet so 
extraordinary. 

As I contemplated the circumstances which sur- 
rounded my situation, and thought of my family at 
home, while looking o\it upon the broad waters 
of Lake Ontario, I sighed, my heart beat with rapid 
throbs and my eyes filled with tears. The cold 
March wind moaned through the slender branches 
of the scraggly pines hard by. The fretful waves 
lashed the gravelly beach, and kept up an incessant 
roar. As far as the eye could reach, the rolling 
white-caps seemed to rise, and following each other 
through foam and surf, soon exhausted themselves in 
the phantom pursuit. 

I walked along the shore and listened to the 
mournful and monotonous music of the tumbling 
billows. I looked up into the sky. A nest of fleecy 
clouds floated over my head. I was sad, disconsolate, 
and my thoughts being attuned to a mood of prayer 
I said: 

"Oh, Merciful Spirit of Nature, give me that 
comfort which I so much yearn to possess. Give me 



180 A PRAYER. 

that knowledge, so desirable, which saves the mind 
from anxiety, hopelessness and misery. Wherefore, 
Oh Father of goodness, are we tantalized and tor- 
mented in life? The world of humanity suffers. 
Unholy devices, crafty motives, unhallowed and 
untrustworty purposes are the object of all human 
trade and traffic. Candor, sincerity, honesty, justice 
and truth are ignored or hampered in expression, by 
the controlling power of wealth and selfish personal 
interests. Spirits possessed of wondrous intelligence, 
and more wondrous* influence over humankind, live 
above us in the air. They are strange beings. 
They live near us all unseen. In their communion 
with mortals they garble a judgment in wisdom. 
They will not concede to human dictation. They 
play fantastic tricks in literature, and shade a life 
of joy, by what — in our discernment — we can only 
denominate unnecessary falsehoods and evasions. Oh, 
Kind Parent of Creation, why this singular admix- 
ture of light and darkness, of virtue and degradation, 
of justice and injustice, of kindness and cruelty. Is 
nature embroiled in never-ending strife, that man 
may inherit folly, imperfection, and wretchedness? 

We look to the future with hope. The heart 
beats with imotions of joy and satisfaction when the 
mind contemplates its prospects in eternity. Yet 
with all our care for the life which is to come, we 
are willing to barter away the "goods of righteous- 
ness" for mammon, and the acccepted opinion of the 
world. 

Here, Oh Father of infinite wisdom, in ways un- 
sought and unexpected come from their invisible 



A PRAYER. 181 

abode the spirits of the dead. An angel's life is 
looked upon by mortals as just and holy, but in 
their communion with men they often manifest char- 
acteristics not worthy of our admiration, respect or 
confidence. 

I have loved, Oh Spirit of Supreme Power, the 
thought that I might be blessed with happiness in 
my immortal life; that I might meet my spirit kin- 
dred beyond the grave with joy, happiness and a 
freedom from those imperfections so peculiar to our 
earthly being. But here is evidence of the continua- 
tion of mortal defects and individual -waywardness. 
Wherefore should spirits falsify, wherefore deceive, 
wherefore annoy us by mysterious announcements 
and unhallowed insinuations. 

Do thou, Oh Spirit of Eminent Mercy, teach us 
the lesson of thy purposes, and if our existence is to 
be forever intermingled with pleasure and pain, with 
wisdom and ignorance, with righteousness and un- 
righteousness, with satisfaction and disappointment, 
with delightful thoughts and sorrowful moods, give 
us the light of understanding that we may provide 
ourselves with strength to bear our adversities, while 
parrying the powers of evil, and endeavoring to avoid 
the mistakes and misfortunes which cling to destiny.' ' 



182 CONTEMPLATIONS. 



CHAPTEE XVI. 

CONTEMPLATIONS. STRANGE FEELINGS. 
A YOICE OF COUNSEL. SPIRIT MESSAGES. 



Dear reader, could you love the spirits as well 
after they had falsified many times in your presence, 
as you could, if you knew them to be always frank, 
open, honest, sincere and thruthful ? 

Nay, you could not. 

I had placed the holiest confidence in the "im- 
mortals," but now experience was clothing that con- 
fidence with doubts and uncertainties. The spirits 
were altogether self determined in every purpose. 
They seemed to disregard my devotion to the prin- 
ciple of goodness and honor; but when I reasoned 
with myself, I was equally confounded with the im- 
pertinence, dishonesty and untruthfulness of men, 
and thus I concluded that the spirits came honestly 
by their faults, or otherwise, if they had outgrown 
them, and still persisted in following evil ways, it 



CONTEMPLATIONS. 183 

was an evidence of a purpose on their part to forbid 
us that joy in a knowledge of their condition 
of being which we so much yearned to possess, or 
else the change of death was unpromotive of right- 
eousness. 

Perhaps, thought I, I anticipate too much from 
spirits. It may be to their interest to confound hu- 
man understanding. Spirit life may be too delightful 
to be revealed to us; else it may be that the chill 
of the passions in death renders the intellect rigidly 
cold and unfeeling. At all events, whatever may be 
the cause of the confusion which is discoverable in 
their communion with us, its bickerings cannot be 
reconciled with our ideas of goodness or propriety. 

The spirits had by inuendo committed them- 
selves to the advocacy of a license ad conubium infesto 
of the affections. To me this was distressing. My 
eyes began to open. Spirits, said I, are natives of the 
earth. The God, who made man to suffer physical 
and mental anxieties and misfortunes, has caused 
the spirit to represent a propinquity of mind. 

I had been sincerely devoted in my attachment to 
my Spirit Brother. He had died when I was young. 
I thought of him as an angel guardian in whom I 
could put my trust and repose my confidence. Was 
I to be dissappointed ? Was my Brother not better 
as a spirit than as a mortal ? 

It may be, thought I, as I reflected, that my 
Brother has no personal control of these manifest- 
ations. It may be that the medium's guardian 
represents himself in this matter, to suit some selfish 
caprice of mind. 



184 CONTEMPLATIONS. 

I now turned my footsteps toward the comly 
little cottage where we were stopping. I walked 
along the well-washed beach admiring the waves, as 
they chased each other onward and died away upon 
the shore. As I stooped to pick up some beautiful 
pebbles which lay in my path — my heart still 
drooping with feelings of sadness — that I might 
admire their smooth round forms and variagated 
colors, a sense of dizziness suddenly came upon me, 
which almost threw me to the ground. I sat down 
for a moment upon an old log to get relief. My 
eyes sparkled with a new and singular illumination. 
All of my senses were affected. I put my hand to 
my brow hoping thereby to press away my pain; but 
all to no effect. A more oppressive dizziness came over 
my being. A halo of light issued from my mind. I 
began to feel distressed, anxious, and my thoughts 
were robed in uncertainty. Perhaps five minutes 
had elapsed, during which time I was struggling to 
release myself from my peculiar realizations and the 
influence which seemed to grasp the very centre 
of my consciousness, when, as if from out of the air 
above my head, a voice uttered these words: 

Be — peaceful — quiet — contented — and — fear — not. 

I looked up with surprise, the wind sighed and 
whistled through the fences and across the fields. 
It was getting colder, or otherwise my sense of feel- 
ing was benumbed. I rose up and stood still for a 
moment thinking of the words which had come to 
my ear. The sudden blindness and mysterious 
whirling of my head ceased in a moment, and I at 
once felt greatly relieved. My mind soon became 



SPIRIT MESSAGES. 185 

clearer, and a feeling of boyancy and hope began to 
infuse my entire personality. Experiencing at last a 
sensation of chilliness from too long exposure with- 
out, I now hastened onward to the house, where I 
found the happy comfort of a warm fire, and being 
soon called to tea, partially forgot — in the sociable 
chit-chat of the hour — the singular event of the 
afternoon. 

The evening seance given by the medium was 
well attended, as it had been previously announced to 
be her last in the village. The spirits seemed unusu- 
ally willing to accomodate all inquirers; answers to 
questions were readily given, and truthful com- 
munications were written impromptu. No mistakes 
were made. Every one in the circle seemed perfectly 
satisfied, and the setting closed with a general sense 
of gladness and good feeling. 

The next day being Saturday, I had concluded 
to return home. My wife had written me that 
letters had been received which needed to be 
answered at once. Eising, therefore, somewhat early 
in the morning and making the necessary prepara- 
tion, taking a warm breakfast and bidding adieu to 
the kind family of Mr. Reynolds, we stepped into 
our carriage and were soon out of sight of the 
pleasant little village of Pultneyville. It was spring- 
time, and the roads being muddy, we were some 
seven hours in driving thirty-two miles, the distance 
to my father's dwelling. 

Upon my arrival home I found letters asking 
for the medium to visit LeEoy, Batavia, Albion and 
other places in the western part of the State of New 



186 SPIRIT MESSAGES. 

York, but owing to local demands upon my time 
these invitations were all declined with the excep- 
tion of that from LeRoy, which place we visited at 
the solicitation of Mr. S. Chamberlin at whose com- 
modious residence we remained some two weeks 
giving public exhibitions of the phenomena of spirit- 
ualism. 

The presence of my wife who accompanied us 
on this occasion, and who occupied a seat in our 
circles, seemed to greatly increase the strength of 
the manifestations, and add a genial influence to the 
objects which we had in view. Our circles were 
thronged. Many of the best people in the place 
were induced to visit the spirits. Lawyers, clergy- 
men and doctors came in to hear the sounds. The 
Eev. Charles Cravens, well known as a highly 
intelligent and liberal minded universalist minister, 
made the "invisibles a call, and unlike most men 
of his profession treated the subject with the most 
commendable and manly candor, whatever might 
have been his private views in regard to the 
matter. 

The son-in-law of a very witty man, whose 
common appellation was "Uncle Millard," and who 
had previous to his desease lived in my native 
village, called at our rooms one morning to see if he 
could obtain any word or communication from him. 
"Uncle Millard" had been about five years in the 
spirit world, and was a quaint and quizzical charac- 
ter. He was indeed a wonder in his off-hand puns 
and jokes, and having been personally acquainted 
with him while he lived in our place, I naturally 



SPIRIT MESSAGES. 187 

felt some interest in what he might say to his 
son-in-law, who had come to speak with him. 
Seating ourselves in a circle about a large table at 
the usual hour in the morning, I was personally 
requested by the gentlemen to inquire for the spirit 
of ''Uncle Millard.'' 

Partly therefore to gratify Mr. Drake — for that 
was the man's name — and partly for my own 
satisfaction I inquired: 

"Is the spirit of Mr. Millard present?" 
After a moment's delay the medium's guardian 
replied : 

"He is not now here, but we have called him 
and he will be here soon." 

We waited patiently for eight or ten minutes 
when the sounds indicated a call for the alphabet 
and the following question was quickly propounded : 

"What do you want of a fellow whom you 
thought had gone to perdition? 

L. Millard." 

Mr. Drake now attempted to ask a mental 
question. Waiting for some seconds he got no reply. 
At last the spirit said, in a manner somewhat 
hurried and as if endeavoring to decipher his 
thoughts: 

"Why don't you tell what you mean, what do 
you set there trying to find an idea for?" 

"Will you tell me when you died?" inquired 
Mr. Drake. 






188 SPIRIT MESSAGES. 

After hesitating again- for some little time, as 
if in doubt whether to answer or not, the spirit 
said : 

"When you ask me a reasonable question I will 
answer. What is the use of inquiring when a man 
died whilst talking to him?" 

When Mr. Drake had concluded his inquiries, I 
naturally had a desire to continue the conversation 
and so I asked: 

Q, "Brother Millard, did you find things as 
you expected to in the spirit world?" 

A. "When you tell me, young man, what 1 did 
expect, I will be better prepared to answer. As to 
whether^ it was painful to die, or pass from the 
earth-body, I can only say, no. But the change 
which I experienced was a curious turn in events, 
for it took me nearly a week to find out what I 
was doing." 

Q. "Is your wife with you?" 

A. What is the use of a wife to such an 
inquiring fellow as I am?" 

Q. What is your occupation in spirit life?" 

A. I am trying to spiritualize the more mater- 
ial elements of my mind, and I engage in all sorts 
of mental jangles to secure the knowledge I need." 

Q. "Would you like to return to earth again ?" 

A. "I am as near the earth as I desire to be, 
and sometimes a little nearer." 

The "sounds" were now becoming somewhat in- 
distinct, and so I inquired : 



SPIRIT MESSAGES. 189 

"Can you not rap differently — louder? 

"How different," was the reply, "I have only a 
faucet to open and shut, to become boisterous, if that's 
what you want."* 

Loud and distinct sounds were now heard upon 
the table and floor, resembling the strokes of a 
man's fist against a board or door. These continued 
for some moments, but gradually diminished in force 
and died away to their usual capacity, and then 
ceased altogether. 

After a brief social conversation which occurred 
among the members of the circle, the spirits again 
called for the alphabet, when the following touching 
and beautiful communication was transmitted to Mr. 
0. Maynard, who was a stranger to the medium, 
and a gentleman living in the vicinity of Le Eoy: 

"Brother, your Son and Father are both here 
with me. Father tells me to say to you, that M. 
and I are just as anxious to communicate, as you 
are to have us. 

Father is your constant guardian. M. often im- 
presses your mind with happy thoughts. We are all 
trying to develope a medium near you, for we would 
like to speak with you more frequently, that you 
might realize our presence when we are near. 

We sometimes stand in a group above you and 
sing together to quiet your spirit, and invite it on- 
ward and upward to meet us in the Spheres of Love, 
where discord is unknown. 

*Uncle Millard was sometimes in the habit of drinkiDg too freely, hence the 
pun on a faucet. 



190 SPIRIT MESSAGES. 

Your M. is a bright and beautiful spirit. He 
says, u tell Father, it was hard for me to leave the 
earth in the first bloom of manhood, but nothing 
now would tempt me to return and assume or re- 
sume the outward form again. Still I wish that I 
could speak to you as of yore, that you might hear me 
and realize my presence, nor longer mourn my body's 
decay, for I have a much more perfect one here. 

When you weep, my kind father, let it be for 
joy that you have a happy spirit Son, in a world 
where death is unknown, and where he awaits with 
joyous anticipation the time when he can meet and 
welcome you to his immortal home. 

Brother, I have rapped these thoughts just as 
he uttered them, thinking it would gratify you* 
Now one word from me. We are altogether united 
in one home, and when one comes to you the others 
respond in spirit. 

I am your ever-loving sister, 

Mary Maynard." 

Upon another occasion at one of our sittings in 
LeRoy the following pathetic message was received. 
The gentleman to whom it was addressed had been 
for some twenty minutes or more occupied in making 
mental inquiries in regard to his spirit friends, their 
age at death, the length of time they had been in 
the immortal realm, and many similar questions, all 
of which he affirmed were correctly answered, when 
suddenly a call for the alphabet — five raps — was 
given, and the following lines, purely from the heart, 
were quickly imparted to the recepient: 



i 



SPIRIT MESSAGES. 191 

"I do not believe I have given you the dates 
correctly. Adeline says I have not, but I have done 
the best I could. 

I know, Dear Father, that you no longer believe 
you have entirely lost your Gennett, but you do not 
realize my nearness as I wish you might. I wish 
you could feel my arms encircling your neck, and 
when you are unhappy hear my spirit whisper 
words of angel comfort and love. I would that you, 
my Father, could see me in my home in the refined 
atmosphere of our celestial realm. You would hardly 
recognize my shadowy form. I still love my dear 
Father and Mother above all else, and am always 
happy to have them know that I am near, for then 
I feel that they are near me. 

Jonathan Miller is your guardian, but Adeline 
and I often impress your mind with a sense of 
feeling and thought. 

I shall always make myself known to you 
whenever I can. 

Good by, my kind Father and good gentle 
Mother, your daughter leaves with you her spirit 
love. 

Gennett Miller." 

Upon another occasion an old gentleman, whose 
hair was a fleece of whiteness, received the following 
sympathetic lines: 

"I am glad to be able to speak with you once 
more. Glad that I can tell you how happy I am, 
and how we all meet and recognize each other in 



192 



SPIRIT MESSAGES. 



spirit. I often come with Lucy to your bedside at 
night and converse with you in thought. 

Your loved friends of this life have everything 
ready for you when your spirit is fully ripened and 
prepared to come to us. 

I wish I could 'make you realize our condition 
more fully, for then it would seem as though you 
were already with us. We always feel happier when 
one of our loved ones from earth join with us to 
receive the felicities of immortal life. 

I was just speaking with Seth C. He wishes 
me to say that he is here. 

I must now say good by. Angel friends have 
greeted you. 

I am still as when you saw me last. 

Trephena Pierce." 



FRIENDLY ACQUAINTANCES. 193 



CHAPTER XVII. 

FRIENDLY ACQUAINTANCES. A LETTER 

FROM HOME. SICKNESS. A TOUCHING 

COMMUNICATION. 



We remained in the village of LeRoy for about 
two weeks, giving sittings twice each day. Our 
seances were well attended throughout. Strangers 
from a distance, men of letters and captious critics, 
honest investigators and doubters of spiritualism, 
atheists, deists and theists, scientists, philosophers 
and religionists came betimes to witness the mani- 
festations and commune with the spirits, many 
visited our rooms with sad doubts in regard to the 
immortality of the human soul, who soon became 
convinced of its truth, as tearful eyes and sorrowful 
looks too often attested. 

During the time which we remained in the 
family of Mr. Chamberlin we were kindly cared for 
by the generous matron of the household, who 
spared no pains in her effort to please us and others, 
and who was ever mindful of the sweet influence 
of her spirit guides. 



194 SICKNESS. 

A letter received one evening brought me the 
unwelcome news of sickness at home. My mother 
was dangerously ill. Notwithstanding the interest 
which I felt in the advancement of the cause 
of spiritualism, and the satisfaction which I had 
realized in my individual experience and intercourse 
with the "invisibles/' I was convinced of the necess- 
ity of at once returning home, in order to care for 
my mother during her illness, and for the purpose 
of appropriating my time to the business pursuits 
— of farming and building — in which I had been 
engaged, but which I had temporarily neglected. 

Without delay therefore we closed our visit in 
LeEoy and immediately returned to Yictor. I found 
my mother prostrate and in a most critical condition. 
Her life was indeed despaired of. She had had a 
physician to attend her, but no seeming benefit had 
resulted from the medicine which had been adminis- 
tered. Her fever which had raged with terrible 
violence for many day was still unabated. 

What were we to do? I sat down in medita- 
tion; regarded every circumstance; saw that my 
mother was beyond recovery, unless something was 
done at once. 

Said I, " I will inquire of the spirits." 
I done so, and was told to be patient and watch 
her symptoms with care. 

Miss Irish sat by her bedside and gave her such 
attention as the "immortals" adviced. We were all 
fearful of the result. The little medicine which she 
was taking, however, soon seemed to work a 
beneficial change. 



A TOUCHING COMMUNICATION. 195 

In twenty-four hours she was evidently better. 
In four days from the time of our arrival from Le- 
Roy and wholly as a result of spirit direction and 
watchfulness, she was so far recovered as to be able 
to rise and set up in her bed to receive care and 
nourishment, and we were soon relieved of our 
anxiety by her almost complete restoration to 
health. 

As my mother was seated near the medium one 
evening during her convalescence, the spirits called 
for the alphabet, when she received the following 
kind and touching message : 

"My dear Mother, I have been by your side 
many times during your recent sickness for the 
purpose of rendering you all the aid I could, and I 
have felt it a pleasure to do so.* I love my mother 
with that fondness which you are aware I know 
better how to realize than to explain. I am often 
reminded of the many motherly kindnessess which 
it was your happiness to bestow upon my needs 
during the long-continued illness and suffering, which 
it was my lot to experience during the three years 
which closed my earthly career, and my spirit often 
bows in thankfulness for the soothing words 
of comfort, which it was your habit to use in dis- 
pelling the gloom and sadness which frequently 
overshadowed my thoughts as a result of fancied 
unkindness in others, or from hopelessness and 
despondency of mind engendered as a consequence 

*The weather being mild and outside doors open the spirit's ingress and 
egress was easily accomplished. 



196 A TOUCHING COMMUNICATION. 

of my condition; and now I would gladly return 
that affectionate and kindly sympathy so, often 
given to alleviate my distresses, by comforting thee 
in spirit as far as I am able. 

My dear kind mother, your elder loved son is 
with you in heart, and bids you be happy in the 
knowledge that your life in the home of immortality 
will be made joyous forevermore by a reunion with 
us, your loved children, who have been prematurely 
called away to dwell amid the resplendent scenes 
of a higher world. 

Jacob Y. Wright." 

My Mother's heart was made glad by the receipt 
of the welcome words thus transmitted to her keep- 
ing and my own feelings were buoyant with emotions 
of delight, when I considered my Brother's kindness 
in conferring upon us, as he thus had done, the as- 
surance of his safety in being, and of the certainty 
of eternal life as appointed to the lot of all human- 
kind; 

On the twenty-sixth day of April, and soon 
after my mother had so far recovered from her 
illness as to be again able to sit up in her easy 
chair, Miss Irish, knowing that my duties at home 
required my constant attention, and feeling that her 
own interests prompted her to continue on in her 
mission, bade us adieu, and after visiting for a few 
days in the family of a neighbor of ours who was 
also a spiritualist, she went eastward to the City 
of Troy, and thence eventually to New York, where 
she resided as late as the year 1862, giving private 
seances at her residence in twenty-second street. 



CONTEMPLATIONS. 197 

Dear reader, I was never — as I have before re- 
marked — disposed to be over-hasty in matters of be- 
lief, but on the contrary was ever inclined to exer- 
cise a sort of reserved criticism in considering all 
theories, statements, propositions or revelations in 
regard to a future life. My mind naturally wan- 
dered in search of a definite knowledge of the con- 
ditions upon which any hypothesis or phenomena 
rested, and I believed only when all doubts were 
removed through the acquisition of that positive 
testimony which the intellect — ever wary — could sum- 
mon to its aid and approve. 

I had now so far advanced in my investigation 
of the subject of spiritualism, pushing my efforts to 
that extreme limit of detailed research and examina- 
tion that the evidence of its truth overwhelmed my 
objections, and I knew that invisible beings lived and 
communicated with men. 

Day after day and week after week I had listened 
to the rappings, had written scores of alphabetic 
messages with my own hand, had interrogated the 
spirits without reserve upon any and all questions, 
at any and all times. I was no longer in doubt as 
to the continued existence and identity of my de- 
ceased Brother and Sisters and other loving friends, 
and I was now better satisfied, owing to the many 
dreams and visions which it had been my happiness 
to realize in previous years, that my Brother not 
only held some silent, secret relationship to my earth- 
life, but that he was instrumental in the production 
of my most singular interior experience. 

Through the mediumship of Miss Irish and in my 



1 98 CONTEMPLATIONS. 

presence the spirits had delivered to many an inquirer, 
thoughts the most beautiful, sentiments the most sym- 
pathetic, ideas the most enticing and acceptable. All 
mental questions were answered with accuracy and 
truth, where questioning was not too long pursued. The 
spirits evinced wondrous wisdom, as well as deep cu- 
pidity. They were kind and gentle in their words, 
but when closely criticized, usually foiled the pur- 
pose of the investigator by " sweet words" and "art- 
ful dodging" in the make up of their answers to in- 
terrogatories, or else for some reason to us inscrut- 
able, they would refuse to communicate altogether — 
especially with some persons — and would remain en- 
tirely silent. 

The more I saw of the physical manifestations, 
the better was I convinced that the angel world 
chose its instruments or mediumistic agents 
without regard to the moral characteristics which 
they personally represented. In other words, the 
principles of morality and association, as understood 
by us, became wholly anomalous in the light 
of immortal life. This was to me a most singular 
feature in the evidences presented from the other 
world, and as a consequence of my education and 
the teachings of society, one which I could not 
with pleasure advocate or maintain; yet with all 
I had no means of disproving the righteousness 
of such a condition of things as pertaining to life in 
the spirit realm. 

"It is true," thought I, "that the law of wisdom 
is not the law of goodness, any more than the law 
of propriety is the law of morality; hence it may 



CONTEMPLATIONS. 199 

be a wise and universal privilege with spirits to be 
wholly free from our ideas of moral contamination 
and vicious contact. Indeed, the very acts which 
we consider to be noble and virtuous, may by them 
be regarded in a very different light, and as only 
appropriate to the conditions of earth-life." 

Jesus said in answer to the inquiring and unsat- 
isfied Sadducees — recognizing by inference the then 
existing marriage laws — that in the spirit they 
"neither married, nor were given in mariage." 

This is to us a marvelous revelation. If spirits 
do not marry in heaven we may look for a great 
change. But not more wonderful was this disclosure 
of the Great Master, than was the announcement 
that: 

"I 'am come to send fire on the earth." 

"Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on 
earth? I tell you, nay, but rather division." 

"For from henceforth there shall be five in one 
house divided, three against two, and two against 
three." 

"The Father shall be divided against the Son, 
the Son against the Father; the Mother against 
the Daughter, and the Daughter against the Mother." 
All in justification of heaven's righteous law. 

Then again, in Luke, chapter 16, verses 29 and 
30, he advises the separation of a man from his 
parents, wife, children and all wordly goods, as a 
commendation to present happiness and future 
peace. 

The methods of spiritualism, the idea of promis- 
cuity, of deliverance in falsification, of contradictory 



200 CONTEMPLATIONS. 

communications, of evasion by artifice in well- worded 
replies to questions, and by the cloak of mystery as 
employed in many ways, are not more surprising 
than the utterances of the wise christian master as 
related in the four gosples, and instead of tending 
to demonstrate the existence of ignorance and wick- 
edness as pertaining to the future life, are incontro- 
vertable proof of the possession of designing knowledge, 
which is exercised by the "invisibles" as well in 
their own defense, as in derision of our weakness 
and presumption. 

Miss Irish had been in our family better than 
two months, I had set with her in private and in 
public circles during the entire period, had listened 
to the rappings both by day and night, when the 
medium was awake and when she was asleep.* 

I had studied the nature of the manifestations 
without stint or hinderance, and the evidence of the 
truth of spirit communion which I had received 
completely forbade denial. They had in every par- 
ticular fulfilled their original promises with me and 
mine, and notwithstanding they had attempted a 
Coup d'etat upon my home-found attachments, I was 
less inclined to complain when I realized that delight 
which a true showman always feels when his efforts 
are crowned with financial success, for in that 
particular the invisibles had really proved themselves 
to be my happy friends. 



♦The medium had occupied a bed in a large chamber, while myself and. 
wife slept in a curtained grotto at one side of the room. 



PERSONAL AFFAIRS. 201 



O EC A. I>T EH XVIII. 



PERSONAL AFFAIRS. MY FATHER'S DEATH. 

ANGEL GUARDIANSHIP. MOVE TO 

MICHIGAN. 



The domestic circumstances under which I strug- 
gled for several years subsequent to 1861, were not 
as pleasant in many particulars as I could have de- 
sired. The many demands made upon my time and 
energies to supply the daily necessities of a double 
household, absorbed the greater part of my attention, 
and consequently for a considerable period I ne- 
glected more than I otherwise should have done, the 
further contemplation of the many interesting sub- 
jects which come within the province of an enlight- 
ened spiritual philosophy. 

Owing to money matters over which I had no 
control, and to an unfriendly spirit of opposition 
which was manifested toward me on account of the 
opinions which I entertained and advocated, I was 



202 PERSONAL AFFAIRS. 

for several years considerably oppressed for the ne- 
cessary means — through want of remunerative em- 
ployment — to supply the needful comforts demanded 
by our large family, the several members of which 
rested their expectations wholly upon my well-in- 
tended, though not always successful efforts. Hence 
it was that during much of the time I was obliged 
to abandon home and friends in order to find that 
occupation which would enable me to bring to them 
that indispensable maintainance which it is but just 
that all should possess and enjoy. 

My Father was now nearing his eightieth year 
of age and had gone into decrepitude of both body 
and mind. During many years of his life he had, as 
I have before written, been associated with the 
Wesleyan Methodist denomination of christians as an 
officiating clergyman ; but having long since retired 
from the regular ministry, and having also changed 
his views in many particulars concerning the subject 
of " religious precepts," and the various ideas which 
were entertained by the sects in regard to the im- 
mortality of the soul and the condition of the departed,, 
he no longer retained the esteem or cherished regari 
of the self-sufficient adherents of "select theology," 
and being now in a great measure unable to defend 
himself against the ill-chosen words and slanderous 
epithets which were heaped upon himself and family, 
I was personally obliged to bear the burden of his 
abuse, until the close of his earthly career whick 
took place in his eighty-sixth year of life. 

Thus I suffered much pain and anxiety on his 
account during the decline which terminated in his 



MY father's death. 203 

disease, and when he had gone to that sphere 
of existence where nature's unseen populations dwell 
in wisdom and happiness, I was more joyous in my 
reflections concerning his condition, knowing him to 
have passed through a terrible ordeal of sickness and 
suffering, and feeling assured as I certainly did, that 
his spirit was now comparatively free from all 
distress and annoyance of the outward world. 

However, when he had gone I could not help 
cherishing a sense of indignity toward those who 
had misrepresented or derided his name, for by a 
providence in his nature, he was eminently good 
of heart, as honest as man was ever made, and 
cherished no thought of evil. He was a kind and 
indulgent parent, an obliging neighbor, a wise 
adviser and sociable companion, and to those who 
sought to malign his character, in old age, because 
of his belief in free thought and spiritual intercourse 
I can only accord the applicable poetic sentiment 
that, 

"He who lives and does aright, 
May soonest claim his manly might." 

During all my trials, troubles and wanderings 
which extended over a period of some fifteen years, 
it was never my satisfaction to neglect a just regard 
for the dear friends, my Brother, Sisters, and others who 
had climbed the high mount of everlasting life, and 
were enjoying the sublime solitudes of the infinite, 
interior realms of nature; and many and many a 
time was it my pleasure to ask, with a full heart 
and in reticent prayer, for guidance and counsel in 



204 ANGEL GUARDIANSHIP. 

relation to the duties and responsibilities which 
devolved upon me, and as often was I convinced 
of the nearness and watchful care of the unremitting 
guardianship of the Brother whom I had loved. 

Upon one occasion he came to my bedside near 
the morning hour, while the full round moon with 
its silver face "yet led in the chase of the glowing 
stars," and gently waking me from a deep and 
dreamless slumber, by an electric shock, whispered 
in my mind these words: Go — to — the — toindow — my 
Brother, whereupon following his advice I arose from 
my bed, and walking quietly to the window which 
was open, I looked out upon the yard in front 
of our dwelling, which was surrounded by large 
sugar maple and cherry trees, and which was also 
set here and there with variagated shrubbery and 
flowers. A large number of pieces from the previous 
days washing had been laid out upon the green 
grass to dry. I knelt down by the window under a 
sort of impulse derived from anxiety and a love 
of nature, as I thought, and was looking up at the 
azure firmament in silent admiration of the 
greatness and grandeur exhibited in the display 
of unnumbered worlds, while at the same time 
thinking of the strange words which had 
come from my cherished Angel Guardian, when 
suddenly I observed a person stealthily stepping out 
from behind a cluster of lilac bushes. Stooping down 
he immediately began to gather to his arms the 
various articles of individual wearing apparel which 
were laying about upon the open ground in front 
of my position. I at once comprehended the reason 



ANGEL GUARDIANSHIP. 205 

of my having been called to the window, and as 
soon as I saw that the thief had fully committed 
himself to his calling, by having taken nearly all he 
could carry, I spoke in a very gruff manner and 
said: 

"What on earth do you intend to do with those 
clothes?" 

In the suddenness of his fright, he dropped his 
selected burden, and ran as if impelled by a shock 
of terror to the gate which he had fastened open. 
Hurriedly following the roadway in a northerly 
direction, the sound of his rapidly retreating foot- 
steps soon died away in the distance, and all was 
still. 

Thus I was made conscious of the attentive 
watchfulness and guardian care of one whom I had 
loved, and who in silence seemed still to feel an 
interest in protecting me from the unscrupulous hand 
of the midnight marauder. As I returned to my 
bed I found that wakefulness held its own in my 
behalf, and as the quietness of the hour was sug- 
gestive of serious thought, I wandered in reflection 
concerning the singular event which had just 
occurred. Thinking to myself, I said: 

How strange it is that an invisible being can 
accomplish so much. I felt a slight shock as if my 
hand had held the wire connected with a galvanic 
battery, and simultaneously with my waking, and 
ere my faculties were fully aroused to consciousness, 
some one seemed to speak audibly in my mind, say- 
ing: Go to the ivindow, my brother. Then all was 
silent and still. I went to the window as directed: 



206 ANGEL GUARDIANSHIP. 

the bright stars were twinkling in the immeasurable 
distance: the brighter moon was wending her way 
toward the western horizon, and not even a zephyr 
moved amid the branches of the trees. It was pleasant to 
look out upon the shadows of the night, and I felt 
sorrowful as I contemplated the wonders of the 
heavens. 

But the thief — what of him? Elated by his 
expectations he suddenly came, stealthily attempted 
to clutch our meager supply of underclothing, was 
defeated, and hastily ran away. Wherefore am I 
a, novice in the study of the Spiritual Philosophy ? 
Could I forget an angel Brother's kindness in saving 
my family from the toils of a vicious enemy? Even 
the sly and secretive thief was blessed by the timely 
interference of a being of the inward life. Our lit- 
tle washing was saved, and the mind that sought to 
benefit itself by villany was mortified by defeat and 
a consciousness of self-degradation in attempting to 
eommit an inexcusable crime. 

"What," thought I, continuing my contemplations, 
4 'what a commentary on the opposition to a belief 
in spiritual intercourse and the guardianship of un- 
seen watchers. I wonder where my Brother was 
when he gave me the warning; where did he first 
discover the thief, and how long did he watch ere I 
was notified of his intentions. I could not see my 
Brother, yet I realized that he was near and desir- 
ous to do me and mine a generous favor. If spirits 
are thus careful of our just interests, and this event 
would seem to indicate that they are, then certainly 
they not only still love us, but must be conditioned 
in life somewhere not far away." 



ANGEL GUARDIANSHIP. 207 

Thus I reasoned with myself until the light of 
the morning sun illuminated the eastern sky, when I 
arose from my bed at an unusually early hour, having 
been made wiser by my experience, and realizing a 
feeling of deep and lasting satisfaction as well as 
thankfulness, for the practical demonstration of spirit 
protection and care which had thus been exhibited 
toward me and mine. 

My Father's death occurred in the month 
of September eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and 
I immediately thereafter resolved to sell the real 
estate and personal effects belonging to our family 
and settle in the West. I had resided in Ontario 
County, in the State of New York, from my boy- 
hood, and while I felt a strong reluctance to 
leaving my old home and the many happy surround- 
ings of my younger days, it nevertheless became my 
settled conviction that I should better my circum- 
stances by so doing. Hence in obedience to the 
opinion which I had thus formed, I sold the proper- 
ty which we possessed at private and public sale, 
and in the early spring of the year following my 
Father's demise, I journeyed to the West and 
located in the village of Middleville, in Barry County, 
Michigan, where I found and purchased a comfort- 
able home, and quietly took to farming as a means 
of support.* 



*The Author has been thus particular in speaking of the fact of hU 
change of residence, for the reason that the events which soon after took place,, 
and which were the cause of the development of his mind in Clairvoyant 
perception, are deemed of much impjrtince ia this connection. 



208 



MONEY. ITS REWARDS. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



MONEY. ITS REWARDS. A VOICE. 
PLANCHETTE, HEARING IN SPIRIT. 



Life is a turmoil at best, and he who succeeds 
in making a completence, adds as well to his cares 
as to his comforts. Some people are inclined to 
think that to be possessed of riches is to be made 
happy; whereas, in truth, wealth produces conten- 
tion, augments our responsibilities, and rather increases 
our arrogance and the general tendency to a 
domineering and selfish disposition, than aids in 
augmenting our joy, or in building up the principles 
of honor, honesty, goodness or personal benevolence. 

The mind naturally yearns to possess independ- 
ence, and to be free from those corroding influences 
which cause distress, annoyance and unhappiness. 
To obtain wealth is therefore made a needful struggle, 
since it secures to us in a measure that desirable 
freedom from the abuses and sufferings engendered 



% 
MONEY. ITS REWARDS. 209 

by poverty, which two-thirds of all mankind most 
reluctantly endure. The mandate of the financial 
world is imperative, and notwithstanding money 
brings its cares, the pursuit of life's greatest blessings 
are involved in the headlong and inordinate "grasp 
for gain," which is everywhere displayed in the 
trade, traffic, and industry of men. 

When I had reached my new home in the 
West, where my family still reside, I found myself 
among strangers, with whom, as such, there could 
not exist that familiarity which I had enjoyed with 
lifetime neighbors and acquaintances in the place 
of my nativity. With a sufficient competency, how- 
ever, to make my family comfortable, and with the 
income from the various products of our farm, which 
consisted of nearly two hundred acres of arable 
land, I felt that we couid live and enjoy life in the 
- light of greater domestic happiness and independence 
than we formerly had done, and although our social 
privileges were for a time more limited than previ- 
ously, still this I regarded as a decided advantage, 
in so far that my family were relieved of the ordin- 
ary unpleasant gossip so apt to be on the wing in 
country towns, and of that overdone familiarity in 
social intercourse which is the fault of many people 
in village neighborhoods. 

Thus as I contemplated my situation I began to 
realize the important fact that the buoyancy and 
vivaciousness which had characterized my experience 
in my younger days, was but too surely departing, 
while the more sober and reflective moods of mind, 
eo peculiar to those advanced in years, came slowly 



210 A VOICE. 

creeping on. I could also see that I was drawing 
nearer to the inward condition of life. The silent 
promptings and impressions received from my guardian 
Spirit Brother, came into my mind with greater 
clearness and precision, and I felt that I was lead- 
ing, so to speak, a "charmed existence" in the full- 
ness of psychologic protection, direction and counsel. 

Devoting most of my time to the fulfillment 
of the many duties which pertained to the proper 
cultivation of my farm, I would occasionally wander 
alone through the woods, with my fishing rod or gun, 
in search of the beautiful fish which abounded in 
the clear running streams, or the wild game which 
existed in great abundance along the Thornapple 
Eiver, and throughout the forests in the vicinity 
of our home. 

Sometimes, when weary I would set down to 
rest on the banks of this noble stream, and con- 
templating the sublime magnificence of nature's won- 
drous works, as they lay spread out in all the 
perfection of crude and unmolested creations around 
me, I could but inwardly exclaim: 

Oh, God! Thy masterly wisdom is the source 
of my joy, yet equally the cause of my sorrow. The 
clear flowing waters at my feet dance and sing as 
they pass along, and the echo of their murmurings 
is heard like the chirping of the birds in the 
branches of the trees — a sad and solemn echo, pro- 
ductive of both joy and heartlessness. The tall, dark 
pines shake their green locks in the wind, and the 
gentle zephyrs lift the pendant leaves of the silver- 
aspen, with the tiny fingers of meek and gentle 
love. 



A VOICE. 211 

The squirrels caper about among the limbs 
of the hollow oaks; the wild duck watches the 
interests of her little family as she glides along on 
the deep waters of the river in search of food; the 
quit, quit, of the wandering turkey, comes up from 
the distance and sounds on the ear, while the rust- 
ling of the hazel bushes not far away indicates the 
approach of the swift-footed deer and her agile 
fawn. 

A yellow-hammer hacks away at the decayed 
trunk of an old standing elm, while within the scope 
of hearing the splash of the playful mink is heard 
as he plunges into the fretful current of the passing 
waters from the body of an old fallen ash. Above 
and far away in the sky, a grey eagle and a hawk 
ride the flowing stratifications of the air, with the 
ease and grace of the trancient clouds, peering down 
upon the beautiful landscape below with all the pride 
of high-minded success. The evening stars begin to 
glimmer, sending their flickering light down through 
the openings among the giants of the forest. 

Thus upon one occasion I mused as I rested all 
alone toward the evening hour, on the green bank 
of the Thornapple Eiver some three miles from my 
present home. I had wandered during the after 
part of the day with my gun in hand in search 
of wild game, and having a heavy burden of Teal 
and squirrels to carry, I had reposed in silent reflec- 
tion beneath the shade of an over-hanging maple. 
While thus reclining I had wandered in thought 
over many a scene in life, until through weariness, 
and thinking I had unconsciously to myself induced 



212 PLANCHETTE. 

a condition of deep mental abstraction, when all at 
once some one from behind me suddenly exclaimed 
BROTHER, with impressive emphasis. 

I immediately arose to my feet in the greatest 
surprise, and finding no one near, I could only won- 
der at the singularity of the occurrence. 

"A voice," thought I as I reflected, "it was 
plain and distinct, and the word Brother was uttered 
as if with a desire to surprise me. I wonder what 
it all means." 

As I recovered from the little excitement which 
the suddenness of the event had occasioned, I inad- 
vertantly ejaculated: 

"That's a nice trick! I guess my Spirit Brother 
thinks I am tarrying too long in the woods, and 
that I had better be hastening home, or else he 
wants to let me know that he is near, and that he 
watches me in my rambles. I am satisfied that it 
was him, it was so characteristic of his mischievous 
ways." 

Thus contemplating what had happened and 
feeling my vital strength renewed as a consequence 
of the rest which I had enjoyed, I swung my game 
over my shoulder and taking my gun in my hand, 
plodded along the winding pathw r ay or "Indian trail" 
by the river side, and soon reached our rural 
dwelling. 

During the Fall of 1868 my family were anx- 
ious that I should send for that mysterious little 
instrument called Pianchette, which was then exten- 
sively advertised throughout the country, and was 
for sale in nearly every city and village in the land. 



PLANCHETTE. 213 

Thinking that we might possibly enjoy its use, or 
that our supplications for spirit communion might be 
heard and thereby rewarded with satisfaction, I 
enclosed the needed amount for its purchase to a 
New York manufacturer, and soon received the pre- 
cious little prize, which came nicely done up in a 
paper box. I immediately took it home where it 
underwent a most thorough inspection, and became 
not only the cause of laughter and amusement, but 
as well of many doubts and uncertainties in reflec- 
tion. 

My wife, more amused than gratified, remarked: 
"I really don't believe it amounts to much." 
My sister said: 

"I don't see what there is about it." 
My mother thinking silence preferable to remark, 
smiled, but said nothing. 

When a thorough examination had been made, 
and Planchette had undergone a rigid criticism at 
the option of the various members of our family, the 
general desire seemed to be in favor of a trial of its 
capacities, and it being in the evening, I together 
with my wife sat down by a small table, and 
placing our hands upon it, patiently waited for 
nearly two hours, wishing for some demonstration, 
but without any definite result. After some general 
conversation in regard to our unsuccessful effort, I 
retired for the night, disappointed and discouraged, 
thinking that our little three legged ornament would 
be likely to prove a total failure, that our spirit 
friends were inclined to ignore its use, and that I 
had probably lost my investment. 



214 PLANCHETTE. 

When another day had passed, however, and the 
twilight of the early morning began to settle down 
upon the shades of night, we again yielded to the 
tenrplation of trying the efficiency of our new and 
singular instrument. We waited and waited, quietly 
sitting by our table until something more than an 
hour had passed, when all at once as if by the influ- 
ence of magic the deceptive truant of undiscoverable 
motive power began to dodge about as if inflated 
both alike with zeal and intelligence. 

Planchette moved. Why did it move? What 
could be the cause? It answered all the mental 
questions asked by myself and others with correct- 
ness, sometimes with captiousness. Who answered 
the questions, was u ligitimate inquiry, and one 
which it became necessary to wisely consider. Cer- 
tainly no member of my family wished to be 
deceived, and as for myself I desired only to know 
the truth. 

Partly from distrust, but more from fear, my 
wife had abandoned the hope of receiving anything, 
satisfactory from the spirits, by its use, as a result 
of the first trial; hence, the burden of our anxiety 
and expectation in regard to its employment had 
fallen to my confidence and care, and I became the 
"witch" in whose hands the 'three legged stool 
of satan" — as it has been abusively denominated — 
moved, and nry mediumship was supposed to be 
established. 

Some said Planchette was a nuisance. It was 
unreliable, insincere and irresponsible. I regarded it 
as a great curiosity ; and judging from many of its 



i 



PLANCHETTE. 215 

movements, and especially from its reluctance to 
speak freely and frankly as mortals speak with 
mortals, I was not in the least surprised that people 
should sometimes become frightened and supersti- 
tious from witnessing its antics, and ejaculate, 
"humbug," "mystery," and other similar unmeaning 
phrases. 

Planchette is a most artful object, thought I. 
It has a pasteboard constitution and loves to be well 
ornamented. It has neither mind nor consciousness, 
yet it often bows with significance. It manifests won- 
drous intelligence, but it possesses no visible mental 
organization. It writes prose, and it writes poetry, 
but the author is unseen. The savants are doubt- 
ful of its veracity. They say it contradicts its own 
assertions, and becomes inorderly. The neighborly 
minister says that it is the work of Satan, and to 
him is accorded the most unlimited power. Thus 
under the pretense of doubt or through assumed 
fear of evil, they abandon the field of investigation 
with self-imposed derision, and an unhappy acknowl- 
edgment of their inability to disclose a mystery, solve 
a problem of interest, or treat a marvelous subject 
with just and becoming consideration. 

Persistency is said to be the source of success. 
Some people would have laughed most heartily at 
my unremitting earnestness and the determined 
attention which I manifested in my effort to reach a 
knowledge of the cause or causes involved in the 
movements of Planchette. It being at a season 
of the year when my time was not much occupied, I 
pursued the subject of spiritual intercourse through 



216 HEARING IN SPIRIT. 

my little instrument with the greatest diligence and 
care. 

I was zealous, eager, honest, sincere and candid 
in every effort and I resolved that since the spirits 
had condescended to manifest themselves intelligently 
through the use of my hand, that whatever might 
be the objection, I would go to the bottom of the 
enfolded Garnee of spirit demonstrations thus given 
if possible. A foreknowledge of the consequence 
of my persistency in the matter of my investigations, 
or of the sufferings which I was doomed to endure, 
would undoubtedly have caused me to desist, but 
ignorance we are told — and confession is no crime — 
is the cause of many lucky blunders, and as I could 
not foresee the result of a too great intimacy with 
the "invisibles," I continued asking for favors until 
the end of about three weeks, when as a consequence 
of continuous concentration of mind, I found myself 
a subdued subject of spirit-psychology.* 

During the first two weeks I had written sever- 
al beautiful communications, which were dictated by 
spirit friends, or those who claimed to be my spirit 
Brother and three Sisters. They were quite familiar 
and conversed with the various members of my 
family with unusual freedom. Numerous were the 
questions asked concerning the home of the spirit, 
the experience in spirit life of those whom we had 
loved, and the condition of being which they enjoyed. 
For several days this unreserved intimacy and 

♦The author is now satisfied that he wua influenced to anxiety by the 
preconcerted design of spirits ; whether that design was good or had is a 
question which I shall leave for the reader to decide, when he has heard my 
story. 



HEARING IN SPIRIT. 217 

friendship continued, but after what will ever seem 
to me as a most remarkable reunion — in social inter- 
course — of the departed, with those still living in the 
relationships which pertain to mortal existence, after 
nearly a fortnight of conversational affability and 
kindly discourse between friends long separated, and 
upon an occasion when I was alone, and when least 
expected, my spirit guide very kindly advised me to 
desist from further freedom in gratifying the curious 
in matters pertaining to spirit communion, and coun- 
seled me to retire* to my private room, and there 
•receive such needful educational training and instruc- 
tion, as would enable me to write upon subjects 
of practical interest to mankind, and promising at 
the same time, that if I would do so, I should have 
aid in writing a work to be entitled the "Mae- 
tereon." 

Previous to this time, however, and even during 
the third week of my experience with Planchette, I 
began to realize a singular sensation which seemed 
to pervade my entire nervous system, and was 
accompanied by a definite realization of hearing in the 
mind. Words, sentences and paragraphs were dis- 
tinctly articulated in this manner, and I soon 
discovered that they were given by a purely 
impressional or imparted process. They were uttered, 
articulated and enunciated to the consciousness 
of the soul, as perfectly as if delivered to the exter- 
nal ear by the oral sounds of the human voice, 
and 1 knew that 1 was listening to invisible beings. 

The thoughts which came into my mind pro- 
ceeded from the designed reflections of my guardian 



218 HEARING IN SPIRIT. 

spirit, and I was satisfied that I was held in 
psychologic subjection to his imposed will, for their 
impartation. Thus I gradually entered the sphere 
of interior hearing or clair audience* and casting 

♦Hearing in the spirit is truly a rare gift of mind, yet it has been pos- 
sessed in various degrees of perfection by several persons in past ages. 

Daniel, the Magian Prophet, affirms that he spoke with the dead in the 
condition of trance, for he sajs Ban., 9th chap, and 9th verse: "Yet heard I the 
voice of his words, and when I htard the voice of his words, then was I in a 
deep sleep, on my face, and my face toward the ground." 

It is stated in Acts 9th chap., 7th verse that Peter heard a voice which 
advised him, and gave him confidence. 

After opening the prison doors the angel admonished the prophets to 
"Go, stand and speak in the temple all the words of this life," Acts, 15th chap., 
20th verse. 

Socrates is said to have conversed with Demons. 

Zoroastor communed vuth celestial spirits. 

Homer spoke with spirits from childhood. 

Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, is said to have "heard the Angels sing." 

Christ conversed with Moses and Elias on the mount. 

Mozart, the great musical composer, more impressible in mind than clear 
in spirit hearing, s*ys: "My thoughts come streaming in upon me, whence 
or how I cannot tell." 

M. Niuoli, in a narrative which he has given concerning things which he 
witnessed — not knowing himself to have been in psychologic trance of his own 
mental faculties — says : 

"About four weeks after their — the phantasmagorical spiritual personages — 
first appearance, I began also to hear them speak. They sometimes conversed 
among themselves, but more frequently they directed their conversation to me. 
Their speeches were commonly short, and never of an unpleasant tenor. Sev- 
eral times I taw beloved and sensible friends of both sexes, whose addresses 
tended to appease my grief, which had not wholly subsided. These consolatory 
speeches were in general addressed to me when I was alone; sometimes, how- 
ever, I was accosted by these consoling friends whilst in company, even while 
real persons were speaking with we." 

Swedenborg makes the following statement in regard to the speech 
of Angels with men in his work entitled "Arcana Celestia :" 

"The speech of an Angel or a* Spirit with man is heard as sonoronsly as 
the speech of a man with a man ; yet it is not heard by others w ho stand near, 
but by himself alone; the reason is because the speech of an Angel or Spirit 
flows first into the man's thought and by an internal way into his organ 
of hearing and thus moves that from within ; but the speech of man with man 
flows first into the air, and by an external way into his organ of hearing and 
moves it from without. Hence it is that the speech of an Angel and of a Spirit 
with man is heard in man, and because it equally moves the organs of hearing, 
that it is also equally sonorous; that the speech of an Angel and of a spirit 
fluvvs down even into the ear from within, was evident to me, from this that it 



HEARING IN SPIRIT. 219 

my Planchette aside, as no longer needful to my use 
— it having simply served to fix my attention and 
concentrate my mental faculties until I became the 
subject of spirit influence and control — I could sit in 
quietness in my chair and give expression to the 
words, ideas and conversation of unseen beings. 

While in this incipient condition of development 
in mental hearing, it was my pleasure one day, after 
I had endured much anxiety and suffering as a sub- 
ject of mesmerism, to receive the wondrous commun- 
ication here within next given, and which was deli- 
vered extemporaneously in the presence of my family 
as the thoughts and words were uttered in my mind, 
while my sister, who acted as Amanuensis, gave 
them to writing as fast as expressed.* 

also flows into the tongue, and excites in it a slight vibration, but not with 
any motion as when the sound of speech is articulated by it into words by the 
man himself.' 1 

Then again he says: 

"The discourse or speech of Spirits conversing with me, was heard and 
perceived as distinctly by me as the discourse or epeeeh of men. Nay ; when I 
have discoursed with them, when I was in company also with men, I also 
observed that as I heard the sounds of man's voice in discourse so I heard also 
the sound of the voice of Spirits each alike sonorous," 

The author of this volume does not agree with Swedenborg as to the use 
of the term "sonorous 1 " — which signifies "loud sound" — in its application to 
"spirit hearing." Although utteraoce in the mind which comes down through 
the top of the head, is identical with hearing produced by the vocal sounds 
of the human voice and the impression is the same to the 6ense of consciousness, 
still it is evident that spirit hearing is rather the result of the silent precipita- 
tion and evolution of thought from invisible mind by a diaphonic process 
which is really nnsonorous, than by any method which involves the idea of sound. 



*Mr. A. J. Davis committed himself to ntterance as provoked through 
spirit cotrol while entranced and totally unconscious of external things during 
his early experience as a seer. The writer on the contrary loses no sense 
of external consciousness while in the delivery of words, ideas or theories from 
the inner world, and is not commonly given to trance during daylight hours. 



220 A REMARKABLE MESSAGE. 



OHAPTEE XX. 



A EEMAEKABLE MESSAGE. 



Oh, come to the Spirit Land, my Brother, and 
in imagination walk with me, hand in hand, where 
suns and systems glide onward with unerring pre- 
cision through the open Horlanzava* of all-abounding 
space. Observe the countless tribes and nations 
of diversified beings, immortalized wanderers in the 
hazy depths of a universe without end, the offspring 
of innumerable planets, assembled in the sky, and 
winging their flight with orderly design along the 
endless circle of Via~lactea, in obedience to Divine 
Command. 

The open vista of the broad blue vault of heaven 
is our eternal home. All space is lit up with livid 
and undying light to bless the dwellers who inhabit 
the kingdoms of immensity, and none may ever mea- 

*In the wisdom of the spirit the boundlessness of space becomes an 
unhappy subject of thought. 



A REMARKABLE MESSAGE. 221 

sure or comprehend while time shall last the full ex- 
tent of the beauty, grandeur or holiness of creation; 
neither the extent of that awarding power which 
seeks abandonment in the system of nature, for the 
promotion of all good, as effected through the action 
of abrasive laws. 

We of the spirit, although organically formed, 
move through space like the fleet lightning in our 
passage from place to place. In our journeyings in 
the future, my Brother, we may gaze upon innumer- 
able worlds, and cancel our claim to personal happi- 
ness as well as sorrow, by the acquisition of knowl- 
edge and the sight of scenes more blessed, more ter- 
rible, than all which belong to, or have been asso- 
ciated with the growth and progress of the earth in 
past ages. 

Looking down upon foreign worlds, the sage 
Amaana, or traveler in immensity, may see and con- 
template the sublime meaning announced in the gra- 
cious molestations of nature, or represented in its 
material labyrinths. 

Oh, what a pleasure to gaze upon the countless 
coiling rivers, which beautify and adorn the surface 
of revolving orbs, as they flow onward filled with 
teeming life over continents and hemispheres, many 
times larger than those of our mother planet. Then 
again, behold the many tribes, races and nations 
of human beings, which people the diversified 
spheres hung out in the broad blue heavens; how 
strangely formed ; how variously conditioned. These 
are the subjects for an eternal lifetime of contempla- 
tion and study, rewarding the efforts of the soul with 



222 A REMARKABLE MESSAGE. 

joyous satisfaction and knowledge. It is a source 
of awful delight, for the spirit to witness the plung- 
ing of mighty waters, as they descend the ragged 
steepa or couch beneath the time-worn precipice 
over which they fall with deafening roar; or as 
they foam under the terrible pressure of the 
maddened winds, as they chase the waves in fury 
over the surface of seas and oceans, whose extent 
it is absolutely horrifying to contemplate. 

I have stood over the Lahavien sea on the 
planet Jupiter, and shaded my eyes in sorrow, as I 
gave my heart to the Infinite Spirit, in the troubled 
vision which I beheld while gazing far over her 
tumbling billows. 

I have watched the glutted Gcharleus as they lay 
in mighty shoals along the terraced reefs, or pierced 
the silvery liquid with their massive, hacking horns 
in search of prey. 

What think you, my Brother, of a marine 
monster so wondrous in its strength, and so singu- 
larly formed, as to be able to plough immense 
furrows in deep sand beds, at the bottom of oacens 
wherein it dwells, and cast the contents thereof in 
every direction by the use of its sinuous nose, its 
claws, and the rapid evolutions of its finless tail. 

While standing up on the hights of Himemeyon I 
shrank back in terror as I reflected upon a scene 
which presented itself in the transparent depths 
of the sea, for below my position. A mighty, com- 
pact, moving mass of these wriggling, cumbersome 
monsters, fifteen hundred miles in length and sixty 
milea abreast, were wandering in migration through 



A REMARKABLE MESSAGE. 223 

the watery element at the base of a series of low 
submarine ridges and were wallowing in the mud 
and sand, and literally tormenting nature by their 
hideous presence. No living creature dwelling within 
the limits of that beautiful sea of tenciled* waters is 
able to withstand the furious power of these vora- 
cious animals. 

When in the future we wander together in spirit, 
my Brother, we shall be able to look upon the won- 
drous works of the Divine Creator, and behold the 
sublime order which attends the development 
of worlds and of universes, in the immeasurable 
labyrinth of nature. We may then contemplate as 
companions in eternity, the righteous law which holds 
all matter in subdued action, determines the real 
relationships existing between all things organically 
formed, and substantiates the value and holiness 
of Omnipotent Design. 

When you depart from the earth, my Brother, 
and come to dwell with me, we will yellow our- 
selves and go on a visit to the planet Mars. With 
gay and joyous hearts we will quickly journey 
thither. Well will we make the ethereal waters 
smile. As we pass along we will drink of the 
golden nectar of Mekernellah and sing the song 
of the lost Twarrvij a sweet though sorrowful 
melody, expressive of the loneliness of the traveler 
who journeys through space from world to world in 
search of knowledge and happiness. With these it 
is not infrequently the case that they become lost, 
hopelessly lost to family, friends, kindred and all 
former associations, and in their absence they are 



224 A REMARKABLE MESSAGE. 

known to linger, amid strange scenes and stranger 
populations, in remotest regions of nature's immeas- 
urable domain. 

We will visit the Oaeen fountain of Sainomi on 
the planet Saturn, where the heated waters pour 
forth in massive columns over a broad aera, boiling 
and steaming heavenward with a rumbling roaring 
sound like a mighty cataract. Eeturning in the sea- 
son of planetary juxtaposition by a pleasant line 
of travel, we will visit the magnificent temple of Ye- 
gehlenon which is situated upon an ever-green isle in 
the shining purple sea of Gahjah in the circle of the 
tropics upon the planet Jupiter. 

Upon this beautiful island, in peaceful content- 
ment and quiet happiness, retire and rest in joyful 
hope many of the aged people of the noblest race 
who dwell in outward life within the broad circum- 
ference of our solar system. For some years pre- 
vious to their departure to the charmed existence 
which they inherit as immortal beings in the bril- 
liantly illuminated atmosphere of their native world ? 
they retire betimes to the delightful seclusion of this, 
magnificent home. 

We will make a journey to the far-clime beyond 
the sparkling milky-w r ay — in the future — and observe 
the enormous Hkneohenlenla as it slumbers in peren- 
nial repose. 

We will visit the Aufstkan gardens of OmitiM 
where time is employed in musical jubilation, and 
spirits are instructed in the more exalted methoda 
which pertain to the proper enunciation of sweet and 
harmonious sounds. 



A REMARKABLE MESSAGE. 225 

We will join the Chklemlew of Meithasos and 
learn the lesson of ample calculation as it is taught 
to the studious Wahrvi of that wondrous institution. 

We will visit the sacred Kunarlavun, where we 
may behold the wise and highly gifted Ghauvons, 
who are employed in conditioning the "Holy Desires" 
of the "Just in Heaven," to nobler prospects in har- 
monious joy and accordant happiness in life. 

We will visit the golden Ahtaa Azalen, where 
the lesson of individuality is taught in the greatest 
degree of perfection, and the mind is aided to the 
possession of the fullest knowledge in self-compre- 
hension. 

And lastly, my Brother, we will visit the wise 
and noble chief who rules the heavens above with 
unsubdued and masterly will, that we may contem- 
plate the grandeur and perfection of the celestial 
government of the immortal world. 

Will you come with me, my Brother, never will 
I be so happy as when you come to dwell with me 
in the home of the spirit." 

When I had finished the delivery of this message 
which occupied nearly an hour on four different 
evenings, the subject being recommenced on each 
successive occasion — by the guardian spirit — exactly 
at the point of suspension on the previous night, and 
as if without reflection, I could only exclaim in the 
deep thankfulness of my own heart. 

"Oh; how marvelous, how inscrutable are the 
laws of mind. Here sitting in my own dwelling, 
together with my family, in the happy enjoyment 
-and quietness of domestic life, I am enabled to listen 



226 A REMARKABLE MESSAGE. 

with freedom to the voice of my spirit Brother as 
he speaks in audible utterance in my mind, and conveys 
his ideas, thoughts and sentiments to me as the gift 
of his wisdom and love. 

Oh ; how strange that I should hear his "still 
small voice" speaking to me so plainly, so distinctly. 
Even as when in boyhood twenty-five years ago we 
rambled together on the old farm, gathering the 
fruit of the trees as it fell dislodged from the pend- 
ant branches by the force of the autumn winds, or 
as we lingered in favorite haunts for the purpose 
of sport, play and pastime — so speaks he with me 
now, inviting me to reflection concerning that 
exalted life which it was his to prematurely 
inherit. 

Is it possible, thought I, that I can "speak with 
the dead/' and yet all the world be groping in 
darkness concerning the subject of immortality. 
Men neither know that they live after death, nor 
whither they are tending as beings of consciousness, 
activity and contemplation. They look up into the 
sky, admire the sublime beauty of nature's handi- 
work; yet withall, they know not of the home 
of the "immortals," nothing of the kind friends, the 
generous kindred who have departed in silence to be 
seen no more. 

Men are struggling in their own minds to solve 
the great problem of spirit existence. They preach ; 
they pray; they weep; yet nature opens not the 
door of her inner temple to the children of earth. 

Now and then a Daniel, Ezekiel, St. John, 
Swedenborg or a Jacob Beohm, avow that they hear 



A REMARKABLE MESSAGE. 227 

the voices of angels, or speak with the unseen 
inhabitants of the super-mundane world, but failing 
to clearly explain the phenomena which they claim 
to experience, or leaving the subject of their 
own realizations enfolded in clouds of uncertainty 
and doubt, they have left their meaning to be mis- 
interpreted and misconceived, and mankind, becoming 
superstitious over their unguarded and ambiguous 
statements, have wandered from a just understanding 
of those psychologic laws, which when wisely 
regarded, so readily and so clearly explain the 
many mysteries associated with the abnormal action 
of the human mind. 

The more I reflected concerning what had 
passed, the more astonished I became. To converse 
with people about a matter which they did not and 
could not understand, I found to be a very useless 
expenditure of time, and one which was usually 
more productive of unfortunate results than of satis- 
faction or success. 

The idea that I was spoken to by invisible 
beings who enunciated their words and sentences 
in my mind by a silent process, yet in a manner to 
be heard as mortals hear each other, and that I 
alone was the recipient of such hearing, was to me 
a source of astonishment if not of real distress, for 
I felt that to be solely endowed with such a gift, 
was so marvelous a feature in individual experience, 
that its possession could never become a cause for 
comfort or rejoicing under the prevailing influence 
of incredulity and dominating self-satisfaction in 
knowledge. 



228 A REMARKABLE MESSAGE. 

When I said to persons who sometimes con- 
versed with me in regard to my condition, that my 
Brother's voice came to my interior hearing in 
plainest speech, that when in conversation with 
others, neighbors, friends, strangers, at home, on the 
street, in the cars, here and there and everywhere, 
I could hold communion with the departed, a smile, 
a shake of the head, or a shrug of the shoulder, 
announced the futility of all attempts to satisfy them 
concerning a truth which it was not their privilege 
to realize as I did, and I was hence convinced that 
1 -physical manifestations" were wisely given by the 
inhabitants of the spirit world to punish a willful 
skepticism and a pretentious righteousness among 
men. 



**:& 



THE PRINCIPLE OF WILL. 229 



CH^FTER XXI. 



THE PKLNCIPLE OF WILL. 



Soon after the receipt of the beautiful communi- 
cation presented to the reader in the previous 
chapter, the following singular thesis upon the 
subject of "The Principle of Will" was commenced 
and delivered extemporaneously, while my Sister and 
Nephew both at times acted the part of scribe, 
receiving and writing each word, sentence or para- 
graph as fast as uttered. 

"The only way to learn the valuable lessons 
of wisdom, is to still the elements of inward strife, 
and seek the consolation of earnest thought and study. 
The merits of any cause, however just, may be 
jeopardized by hasty and willful action. The imper- 
fection which is manifested in, and associated with 
all human affairs, is a result arising mostly from the 
impetuous exercise of the pertinacious principle of 
will. The mind becomes abased, or otherwise 
elevated in self-perfection, as surroundisg influences 



230 THE PRINCIPLE OF WILL. 

fashion or control the will to conditions of good or 
evil. Sometimes the human mind becomes so biased 
as a result of local causes, under the instigation 
of will in misdirection, that life itself is rendered 
abnoxious, burthensome and inharmonious to the 
individual, and distress, discord and unhappiness, 
rather than the joy and felicity which results from 
evenness of mind, is the inevitable consequence. 

The human mind is a microcosm in which the 
office of nature is more or less perfect, in conformity 
to pre-natal influences, subsequent circumstances, sur- 
roundings, individual habits and associations. 

When the mind represents itself in goodness, 
justice or benevolence, the atomic substance of the 
brain tends to a convergance in the moral faculties 
in layered consistency, or in great uniformity and 
order of its seried conformations. The highly intelligent 
mind is often so closely bound by the ties 
of compact in its organic dependence, that the very 
words employed in speech are concentrated and 
combined in the smallest possible compass, with yet 
a force equal to a more loose and voluminous utter- 
ance. 

The brain of man is so constructed as to unite 
the principle of Love and Will. Life is made 
permanent by this unseen union of positive and 
negative forces, and human consciousness — an inev- 
itable outgrowth of their organic association — is a 
result productive of wisdom, which is knowledge, 
gained by observation, reflection or intuition, and 
which lives in memory, having its seat in the focus 
or centre of the mind. 



THE PRINCIPLE OF WILL. 231 

Oviparous inter-communion is the righteous 
source of that Mixte of Renezeun elements, which 
when Arteveed in life, become the responsible cause 
of physical growth and mental expansion, and by 
slow degrees of the development of will. Mind is 
the seat of the most subtle will. Will is the centre 
of constantly increasing wisdom; and we cannot dis- 
cover its origin, or the cause of its existence or 
operations. Will is the only thing which is wholly 
commonplace in the universe, as an all-pervading 
element of power, and yet which is utterly incom- 
prehensible to the mind. 

Mind is the only thing which can examine will, 
and will is the only thing which can control mind. 
Mind is the only power which possesses the attri- 
butes of ever-to-be continued expansion in all things 
pertaining to intelligence; yet mind may be delayed 
in its progress as a result of its dulness in percep- 
tion or the inaptitude of its component faculties. 

The principle of will is so subtle in its composi- 
tion that the connexion between it and the mind is 
not and cannot be comprehended. Will is the only 
thing which cannot be analized, is the only thing 
which is to continue in control of the mind through- 
out eternities of time, and yet we shall never know 
the full extent of its power. Will is the only thing 
wholly at the mind's disposal, yet which controls the 
interests of the mind. 

Will is a power which is ever to be dreaded, 
and comes from the great fountain of causation. As 
a Divine element will is the only all-abounding in* 
fluence which works incessant changes in nature to 



232 THE PRINCIPLE OF WILL. 

the building up and disorganization of worlds, and 
the order and confusion of matter. Will is a mighty 
engine of power, and combines the energies of de- 
struction with the united elements of wisdom. The 
principle of Infinite Will is an inconceivable agent or 
combination of inscrutable forces, wandering at the 
instigation of wisdom in the everlasting abuse and 
correction of unlimited Deific creations. Will is the 
motive power of Omnipotence, constantly moving all 
matter in the universal Jan-za of space, and is the 
active cause of the organization and disorganization 
of worlds, universes and all material forms. Under 
the force of Infinite Will suns and systems are 
brought into being, continued in existence for an in- 
definite period, die, become confused, circulate 
through the immensity of space in concentric circles 
of commingling atoms, become resolved into order, 
break into the formation of worlds, and bedeck the 
blue expanse of heaven with newly unfolded stars 
and planets, which persue the privilege of destiny 
with a new and wondrous lease of life. 

Will is ever at work in all departments of the 
boundless universe of matter, is restless in its efforts, 
builds up and destroys organic forms, by fashioning 
congenial atoms into seried stratifications, and carry- 
ing them back again into dissolution of their 
aggregated particles. The will of the Omnipotent 
Spirit adjusts and controls the endless dominion over 
which he lavishes His kindly care; and the whole 
organic temple of nature is corrected by this diffu- 
sive principle under the promptings of Infinite 
foresight. 



THE PRINCIPLE OF WILL, 233 

Will is the only good yet mischievous power. 
It lingers on the confines of the great worlds 
of omnipotent creation, and yields to the orderly 
suggestions of Divine Wisdom. Will is a yellow 
principle, permeating and penetrating all matter. It 
exists in association with all atoms, is centralized 
and focalized in the organic structure of all forms, 
worlds, suns and systems. 

We cannot reach by observation the movements 
or motions of the principle of will. Its combined 
activities are altogether inscrutable; yet its influence 
is everywhere present. Mind feels the contact 
of mind with mind through the force of will. By 
this approach we experience a sensation which either 
mars or pleases the feelings. The understanding is 
thus notified of that which is congenial or disagree- 
able, and conclusions are thus formed. 

Will is the only principle in existence which is 
not clearly soluble by the mind's executive compre- 
hension, and is the only thing which the mmd may 
never fully fathom. Will is the Great Power which 
was the cause of the beginning of the present order 
of nature as exhibited in the universe, and in the 
far-future this all-prevalent principle, will undo all 
harmony in matter as expressed in the order and 
formation of worlds now existing in space, to the 
end that a higher and more perfect condition 
of Divine Order, Harmony and Law may exist. 

When will is willfully operative it is the Ultima- 
thule of positive power. When it is tacitly active, it 
is the medium of combined commerce between every- 
thing in being. Will is a most perfect combination 



234 THE PRINCIPLE OF WILL. 

of latent and eternal principles; is the most interior 
of all elements; can never be destroyed; cannot be 
coerced into permanent inactivity, or in any way 
become lost to the wondrous purposes for which 
it was primarily intended as the vehicle of combined 
use and destiny. The principle of will is the pro- 
ductive cause of all motion. Matter is organized and 
disorganized, is condensed and consolidated, or is 
abrazed, volatilized and dispersed by its incessant 
action. At the suggestion of wisdom, this all-con- 
trolling principle wanders forth in its commercial 
evolutions to build up or destroy planets, suns and 
systems, nebula, and endless belts of stars; and in 
its all-powerful grasp are held the countless orbs, 
which gather around the Infinite centre of being, 
and course throughout the ethereal realms of space, 
with periods as diversified, and revolutions as sur- 
prisingly rapid, as they are terrifying and inconceiv- 
able. 

The principle of will is the only thing which is 
entirely transitory in its characteristics, and yet 
which is unfathomable to the mind or understanding. 

Will is a most wonderful phenomenon. In its 
universal relation to nature it supports and executes 
the edicts of Divine Wisdom without rest or 
neglect. Its action is perpetual. It moves in the 
breeze; is terrible in the storm; maddens in the 
waves; is pleasant in the sunshine, and genial in 
the rippling stream. Will is the monitor which pre- 
sides over intellectual consciousness. When guided 
by wisdom it prompts the individual to the 
performance of acts of justice and benevolence, 



THE PRINCIPLE OF WILL. 235 

becomes subservient to tho practice of worthy 
virtue and morality, and points the way to ultimate 
peace and happiness. 

Will is the efficient law of a comprehensive sys- 
tem of use and beauty too vast to be understood by 
the mind of man, or fully known even to the evan- 
gels of light among the truly blessed in higher 
spheres of eternal life. Will reaches out into the 
unfathomable depths of time and space, is the active 
promoter of all life, seeks equality in nothing animate 
or inanimate, yet does the bidding of the Great 
Huler of nature, with power, precision and tireless 
energy. 

Will is a manifest expression of the only system 
of commingling forces in the wide spread universe, 
as emenatiog from the decisions of the Great 
Supreme Author. To Spirits, that power pervading 
the realms of matter most worthy of their contem- 
plation, is the principle of will; and only when we 
come to understand the motives which abound in 
the deep secluded recesses of Infinite Wisdom, can 
we know of the practical operations of the yellow 
principle which we term will. 

The most astounding influence of will is pre- 
sented in the tremendous efforts of nature to 
accomplish the purposes involved in her continuous 
changes and destiny. In the principle of will there 
is uncertain and dreaded power. It is wicked in its 
wantonness, and obliging in its happy ways. It 
wanders in the destruction of the creations of its 
choice, and quietly gathers the broken fragments 
of mutilated forms and moulds them into new and 



236 THE PRINCIPLE OF WILL. 

wondrous objects. Will has no love for the principle 
of Life, neither desire in the qualification of Death. 
Wisdom ever watcheth the motives of will in its 
circuitous wanderings and mechanical evolutions in 
the infinite regions of space, and in its subduing 
strength holds it in neefdul subjection to timely 
and considerate use. 

Will is the agent of wisdom, but often abuses 
the commands which it receives in the performance 
of its duties. The only record showing where the 
Infinite Being dwells is found in the perambulating 
worlds which fill the sea of immensity to repletion. 
When the Omnipotent Father caused the domain 
of nature to be studded with gems, he also caused 
the principle of will to go forth on its mission 
of everlasting perturbation, for the furtherance 
of those purposes which pertain to the demands 
of progressive law. 

The principle of will in its manifestation is the 
outspoken expression of the mind in its desires. 
Will must ever conform to the bidding of its super- 
ior master wisdom; but may temporarily diverge 
from the support of justice and become the servant 
of selfish or unguarded use. 

When the only thing designedly supervising, 
which is wisdom, succeeds the only thing uncompre- 
hended, which is will, then the final principle must 
surely take the precedence of power, purpose and 
responsibility. Will is in diversity of manifestation 
in all time, in all places, and in all things; yet it is 
ever the same in its ceaseless activity in the Divine 
Economy of the universe, and in it there is no 



THE PRINCIPLE OF WILL. 237 

quibbling cause; for wisdom in its supreme super- 
vision gives that safety to all things in being which 
is sure, steadfast and unalterable. The greatest 
power which comes from God's Wisdom is his over- 
whelming goodness and all-embracing love; and the 
holy system of mechanism abounding in the unlimited 
realms of space, is founded upon these two chasten- 
ing principles of Omnific Origin. To suppose our 
Heavenly Father deficient in the means of controlling 
for everlasting good, "The temple of his handiwork," 
would be to acknowledge a purpose lacking that 
perfection and consistency, which his position and 
relation to nature would imply. 

To the thoughtful mind there is one only Infin- 
ite and Eternal Being, whose intentions are just, 
whose motives are wise and well-timed, and whose 
Great Heart embraces in its sublime strength, the 
celestial seraph of the highest heaven, as well as the 
less expectant intelligences, dwelling within the 
confines of his broad domain. 

God is a creator only through the force 
of the action of Omnipotent Will. By and through 
the energy of this ever restless principle, the 
designs of the Infinite Being are carried into practi- 
cal effect. Will sends its scintillations of motion 
broadcast into the unfathomable depths of immensity, 
and in the fullness of its corrective influence it yields 
to no obstacle or objection. Will is the only source 
of success to the plans of the Divine Architect, and 
the only promise of safety ever given to intelligent 
beings who live within the confines of the temple 
of nature. 



238 THE PRINCIPLE OF WILL. 

When the Father-mind of the universe caused 
the chaotic elements of the whole structure of the 
boundless universe of his pride and care, to unfold 
in beauty, order, form and harmony, from a state 
of inorganic abrasion and restless commingling inse- 
curity, then was presented the most perfectly 
outspoken expression of the all-prevalent principle 
of Infinite Will. 

The hope of mind in nature rests in the 
capacity of will. The safety and satisfaction of 
being reposes in the cautious purposes of wisdom. 
If will is rendered submissive, or is advised and 
directed by wisdom, then is wisdom inevitably the 
only safe and reliable guide to conditions of light, 
harmony and happiness in the individual, and the 
only responsible power acting as a Divinely Author- 
ized Agent in the watchful protection of the 
incalculable interests, which abound in every 
department of creation. 

When we contemplate the action of will as 
manifested in its devious wanderings, or as engaged 
in the performance of the sublime duties which 
pertain to its exalted mission, in the spheres 
of matter and the labyrinths of mind, we can oaly 
conclude that the general safety and eternal contin- 
uance of matter is certain, that it is fixed in its 
tendency to seek organic forms, and that the happi- 
est results to all intelligent mind may be inferred as 
a consequence of such a wondrous and orderly 
resolution of force. 

Will often presents features aod phases of 
manifestation quite as absurd and unsatisfactory aa 



i 



THE PRINCIPLE OF WILL. 239 

they are uniformly resultant of worthy effect. When 
taken as a whole the demonstrations of will tend as 
well to astonish and confound the intellect, trying 
the confidence of the soul in its belief in the 
permanency of nature, as to establish the certainty 
of eternal order, goodness, justice and the stability 
of Omnipotent Design. 

Will is a principle which if unrestrained by 
mind, or un guided by that wisdom which is ever 
inseparable from its existence, would not only roam 
at large with indiscreet and wanton force, but would 
produce universal disorder, anarchy and confusion 
throughout the boundless realms of space. 

Wisdom is a gracious guard, a reliable guide, a 
safe defense against every abuse and excess; for 
although mind or matter may swerve from the point 
of central attraction, from the highest good, from 
fixed fealty to established law, yet they are sure to re- 
turn again to the rule of just and righteous action, 
under its imperative demands, and serve the best 
purposes involved in their every natural use and in- 
clination. 

The will of the Infinite Being is alone repre- 
sented in the Pleonvm power which holds the im- 
measurable universe in incessant toil and duty, and 
in all its relations to matter and the ethereal ele- 
ments of mind, it can only yield its insensate force 
and ever active energies, to the interests dominating 
in the watchful principle of wisdom, which in its 
Omnicient capacity controlls all things in creation 
with unerring precission for ultimate good. 

Matter is not only bound to obey the commands 



240 THE PRINCIPLE OF WILL. 

of wisdom as guided by its appointed agent will, but 
will is obligated to perform the office of all contention 
and strife in the limitless domain of nature. The 
central element of power which we denominate will 
can no more oppose the general purposes of wisdom, 
than can wisdom suspend or destroy the needful 
operations of will. The mental will is a sublime 
phenomenon, and is a result of the combined active 
relationships of the various faculties of the mind. Men 
and women are the inheritors and responsible pos- 
sessors of this wonderful principle, which is the ser- 
vant of intelligence and which is as varied in the 
characteristics of its manifestation, as individuals are 
different in their physical appearance and constitu- 
tional peculiarities. Some persons are in the exercise 
of will for beneficial and worthy purposes, while 
others are as earnest in effecting unwise and mis- 
chievous objects. Will can only serve that wisdom 
which the mind enjoys and is able to make practical 
in life. Will is not identical, It answers all de- 
mands. It serves the poor, and it serves the rich. 
Aided by intelligence, without goodness, it becomes 
ungenerous and serves a willful and wicked object. 
Stimulated by want or prompted by views founded 
in self-abasement and degradation, will becomes the 
servant of utterly selfish motives, and seeks satisfac- 
tion in theft, murder and self-destruction. In pro- 
portion as will is left without the guidance of wisdom, 
in such ratio does it become annoying and objection- 
able through its hasty and unguarded manifestations. 
To the wise man will is ever a blessing. It serves 
him in reason; he holds its wanton inclinations in 



THE PRINCIPLE OF WILL. 241 

cheek; he makes it his servant; he is its master. 

Will enables the toiler to accomplish his task; 
it provides the statesman with power to enforce his 
opinions aad arguments; it is the traveler's safety, 
and the business man's success. By the force 
of will the eagle mounts the heavens and tarries 
in the region of the clouds. By it the voracious wolf 
pursues the deer and destroys his prey. It is the 
power which moves mountains, builds railroads, clears 
away forests, digs tunnels, and makes a garden of a 
wild and arid waste. 

Will is manifested in agreement of mind, as well 
as in disagreement. It presents itself in willingness 
as well as in stubbornness. It is the guard of our 
joy, and the restraint set upon our habits and pas- 
sions in life. Will is often a source of abuse to the 
understanding and gives cause for sorrow, distress 
and regrets. It accommodates the loftiest pride 
of thought, and serves the lowest condition 
of being. 

The principle of will is the responsible agent 
of Infinite Wisdom, and accomplishes the objects 
of Divine Desire through the inscrutable extremes 
of misery and happiness, of joy and sorrow, of light 
and darkness, of cold and heat, of white and black, 
of sweet and sour, of activity and rest, life and 
death. 

The principle of will is the pivot upon which 
the universe revolves, and upon a knowledge of the 
movements and characteristics of this all-abounding 
element of nature as subdued by Omnipotent Wisdom, 
rests the confidence of spirits and angels in regard 



242 SPIRIT HEARING ESTABLISHED. 

to the future, and the safety of all things existing 
"in the house not made with hands suspended in 
the heavens," 



CHAPTER XXII. 



SPIEIT HEARING ESTABLISHED. 
IMPRISONED IN PSYCHOLOGY. SUFFERING 

AND SUCCESS. 



When I had finished the delivery of the article 
upon 1 the subject of "The Principle of Will," which 
required several days at odd hours, I could see that 
mankind were living in utter ignorance in regard to 
the laws of mind, and I discovered — by trying to 
explain to others my own ideas concerning the 
matter — that it was almost, if not quite, impossible 
to so define the subject as to render it intelligible 
to them. That I should be able to listen to the 
words and sentences of an unseen being in the pres- 
ence of my family, and that they should hear noth- 
ing, and that I was at the same time in a position 






IMPRISONED IN PSYCHOLOGY. 243 

to be doubted — my individual honor being my chief, 
safety in the confidence of others — was to me a very 
anamolous state of affairs, and equally a source of 
surprise, pleasure and wretchedness. My invisible 
guide permitted me to answer the mental questions 
of friends or strangers and this enabled me in a 
degree to dispose of various skeptical notions and 
objections which were offered as a set-off to my per- 
sonal sincerity and honor. 

I could now hear a spirit speak as easily as I 
could hear a mortal, but where they were, or how 
they were situated, was still as great a mystery as 
ever. The visions which I had enjoyed from child- 
hood, and which became more definite, interesting 
and instructive as I advanced in years, indicated the 
existence of life in the air above and beyond the re- 
gion of the clouds, but concerning this point my 
knowledge was as yet purely hypothetical, having its 
basis in inference, the laws of analogy, and the 
general tendencies of matter and mind as represented 
in nature. 

I began to get thin in flesh as a result of my 
subjection to spirit-psychology, and the effect of the 
influence which was exerted over my entire mental 
organism began to be noticed by those around me, 
and I was counseled to desist from further pursuit 
of so dangerous an enterprise. 

However willing I might have been to have 
complied with the kindly advice thus given, at the 
time to which reference is here made, it would have 
been impossible for me to have done so, owing to 
the fact of the imprisonment of my mental faculties, 



244 IMPRISONED IN PSYCHOLOGY. 

so to speak, in the state of permanent trance, from 
which to gain relief I had no remedy. I was depend- 
ant upon my spirit magnetizer. His will was my 
desire ; and however much I might have objected to 
his control — and I often did — the rule of superior 
power was over me, and I yielded because it was 
the operator's decision; 1 being confined in a wish to 
have it so. 

Thus after due consideration concerning my 
own views and feelings, while I could but acknowl- 
edge my thankfulness for the wondrous gift of 
clair 'audience , although much of my experience was a 
source of bickering annoyance, mortification and 
distress. I resolved to say but little in regard to my 
realizations, being convinced of the impropriety 
of conversing with people upon a subject wholly 
beyond the reach of ordinary understanding, and 
which could be no source of direct benefit to indi- 
viduals. 

It was my determination, therefore, to put aside 
all private explanations, and engage my pen in the 
duty of writing a full statement in regard to what had 
occurred to me as a psychologee under spirit control, 
and present the same to the world in the plainest 
and most practical language which I could command, 
for the benefit of those who might desire to under- 
stand the more singular features connected with the 
manifestations of mind, or who might become more 
happy and better satisfied with life, through an 
assurance that its continuance after the event of phy- 
sical dissolution, could be no work of caprice, chance 
or uncertainty; but was in truth a fact made per- 



IMPRISONED IN PSYCHOLOGY. 245 

manent as a result of nature in us, and was an 
inheritance which, when once possessed, no mortal 
could either undo nor destroy. 

The messages and articles which I had extem- 
poraneously delivered — some of which contained many 
new and strange words, which were designed to be 
expressive of states, conditions, locations and places 
in the immortal realm — met with a heartfelt 
welcome from my Mother, Sister and family, and 
they were regarded as not only a source of hope, 
comfort and consolation, but as well an evidence 
of spirit kindness and condescension. 

I had been privately counseled to retire to my 
studio, where I was advised to remain from three to 
five hours each day, for the purpose — as I have 
before intimated — of receiving aid as a student 
of literature. I accordingly took to the quiet of my 
library and became the psychologic pupil of a spirit 
diciplinarian in matters of letters, whose severity as 
a tutor was often quite as objectionable to my 
feelings, as it was undoubtedly beneficial in an 
intellectual point of view. 

The mesmeric influence which was held over my 
mind was gradually augmented — imperceptably to 
my consciousness — and I soon lost the control of my 
mental faculties. My Brother and his associates in 
spirit life had nicely attuned their purposes to catch 
and hold me, in the clutch of enchantment, and I 
felt that they had too truly succeeded.* 

*When a person is under the influence of spirit will — and I unhesitatingly 
say that no person of intelligence ever wholly escaped such influence — they are 
usually quite unconscious of it owing to a want of knowledge of the laws 
of mind. Only sensativenes3 and acquired habit enables the soul to realize every 
encroachment, of mental power. 



846 IMPRISONED IN PSYCHOLOGY. 

Day after day I continued writing, first upon 
one subject and then upon another, compounding or 
analyzing this sentence or paragraph, then shortening 
or lengthening some other, until I became a simple 
tool in the hands of an unseen operator who guided 
my thoughts, ideas and utterances with a force which 
I could not stay, and with a determination which I 
could not prevent. 

I now began to reflect as well as I could con- 
cerning my own condition, for realizing that I was 
no longer master of my own mental activities, I began 
to have serious doubts as to the consequence of fur- 
ther permitting such influences to control me, and 
hence I struggled for relief. 

I had become a complete instrument of use. A 
perfect machine of flesh and spirit. Had I been a 
believer in an orthodox devil I should certainly have 
felt that for some reason or other my interests in 
life had become associated with the machinations and 
devices of his imperium majesty, but as my Father 
had taught me that such a personage was but a fie- ' 
tion, and that the better interests of being were only 
to be secured through trials and sufferings, I con- 
cluded to bear my pains and difficulties with as much 
fortitude and forbearance as I could possibly com- 
mand, and accept the derision of the spirit for the 
blessing which was thereby to be gained. 

At the instigation of my magnetizer, with whom 
I was now in constant conversation, I was compelled 
to extemporize sentences, paragraphs, rondeaus, verses 
and original poems every moment of time during my 



IMPRISONED IN PSYCHOLOGY. 247 

wakeful hours.* The volumes of thought which 
entered my mind soon became oppressive and dis- 
tressing. The whole theory of the origin, develop- 
ment and wondrous changes constantly occurring in 
nature — as comprehended by my spirit guide — was 
impressed upon my understanding. T was equally 
horrified and delighted. The extremes of goodness 
and wickedness, of joy and sorrow, of resolution and 
despair, of harmony and discord, of justice and mis- 
fortune, were all observed as a part of the Divine 
plan and as fundamental thereto. The extent of the 
creations of the universe as impressed upon my per- 
ceptions and thoughts, completely overwhelmed my 

♦Verses compounded of syllables in all marmer of forms were enunciated 
in my mind and euforced in my utterance for days and weeks and months. 
This was said to be done in order to strengthen my memory, awaken thought, 
and facilitate ease in expression. The following is a specimen of the verses 
which I repeated, sometimes with wondrous rapidity for twelve hours together: 

Mar — tol A — ni Le — ne — won, 
E — mo Wan— ti Ax — a — Ion ; 
Bantz— e A — na Mex — o — no, 
In— tor Al — vi Ba — na — yo. 

A — mon I — mon O — mon In, 
Le — ror Al — ti Ma — ni — win; 
Ken— e— ke Kon— e— ko A — fal— so, 
Ips — a— von Ar — la — von Ma — na — yo. 

The "spell of the spirit" in which I delivered these singular verses would 
be regarded as demoniacal, no doubt, by many persons, and by giving expression 
to them openly auy individual would be considered insane. I regret exceedingly 
that I am unable to give a more perfect representation of this matter, spirits 
object to it aud retuse to give mo aid, obstructing my memory by ps-ychoiogic 
processes whenever I attempt to write upon the subject — or otherwise I would 
give the details of an experience so wondrous, so exalting, jet at times so 
terrible, as a- of heartless wisdom, of God-like greatness of mind be- 

yond the earih, that all tampering with the "immortals' would cease forever. 
The simplicity of our knowledge is destroyed in the 'world beyond." The law 
of amplification in mystery as made manifest in spirit demonstrations and 
communion, hides from our perception that unmeasured intelligence which the 
""invisibles" possess. 



248 IMPRISONED IN PSYCHOLOGY. 

consciousness and the peace of my soul, and I beg- 
ged to be released from realizations so painful, from 
sights so harassing and extraordinary; but all to no 
effect. I was deeply entranced in mind. My ideas 
were fomented. My will was not my own. I was 
taken from my writing and directed to wander out 
in the fields. I sat down in this place and that 
place all alone, listening to and repeating volumes 
of new and singular sentiments, which flowed into 
my mind like the current of a river. I could not 
prevent their introduction by any means at my 
command. My mind was being played upon like a 
piano. At times my consciousness was wholly lost. 
I began to be frightened, terrorized, and I cursed 
with a fearful utterance. 

At the pleasure of my operator — all unseen — yet 
now much against my own judgment — my will being 
no longer my own to control — I stood for hours in 
an old back shed which ajoined the barn near my 
dwelling and gave expression to the thoughts and 
words — marvelously compounded — which descended 
into my mind with great power and rapidity. Twice 
during ten days, while I was in the deepest 
abnormal condition to which I attained, my tongue 
and mental faculties were held so perfectly within 
the control of my magnetizer, that any language 
forced upon my sensibilities was uttered with the 

greatest freedom.* In this condition, and while 
compelled to weep like a child, I spoke the most 

beautiful and flowing tongue known to the spirit 

Sivihs\ of the In-te-un realm. I can never forget 

*This state of mind was missioned in the Messiah. 
fSpirits of great age and wondrous wisdom. 






SUFFERING AND SUCCESS. 249 

the sweet accent of that inimitable monosyllabic lan- 
guage, and I could only give expression to it in my 
tears. 

After I had been thus beset by spirit influence 
for many days and weeks, and notwithstanding there 
was much of interest in my experience, I found my 
distresses greater than I could bear, and in anxiety 
for my own safety, I said to my guardian: 

"For God sake give me peace, or otherwise 
destroy me if you will." 

I was really more frightened than hurt, for 
being mostly unacquainted with the laws of mind, 
at least in a practical sense, I supposed that if I too 
long permitted this mesmeric control of my spirit, 
it might result in permanent personal injury if not 
death. But my counsels were ever forthcoming. 
My Brother advised me to bear my pains with 
patience, adding: 

"You will soon be released from your trials. 
Dont worry, neither fear." 

I had become sick of promises. My caution had 
been aroused, and I vowed that I would not submit 
to such treatment. When compelled to yield to 
psychologic power I stamped my foot, clutched my 
teeth, and tore my hair in my willful resistance. I 
made a desperate struggle to regain my normal 
condition of mind; but all to no effect. I soon dis- 
covered that to wrestle with the angels* was an 

♦The wrestling of Jacob with the angel at Peniel, as recorded in the 
thirty-second chapter of Genesis, is no longer a subject to be misunderstood, when 
the influence of pf ychology as exercised by spirits is properly comprehended. It 
is very eyident, judging from the scriptural record, that not only Jacob the 



250 SUFFERING AND SUCCESS. 

unhallowed undertaking, and I concluded to beg my 
way out if possible. In this I met with but indiffer- 
ent success. Indeed I began to realize that silence 
and submission were the better part of valor, and so 
I wept in my misery. 

Day after day my trance deepened. I was 
made to weep, talk, sing, laugh and sigh. My 
tongue was actually moved by the descending will- 
force of my operator, and my thoughts were like a 
flowing river, continuous, incessant and distressing.* 
My senses were wondrously acute and active, and 
were played upon in a thousand different ways. 
These influences all came through the top of my head. 
So sensitive had I become that I could feel the will- 
power of my spirit guide, passing downward through 
my skin and skull into the corrugated cell-substance 
of my brain, where it seemed to grasp by an 
astringent force the nerve-connections with every 
function of my body. In this I felt all the sensations 
— intensified — natural to my own consciousness, and 
I learned something of that righteous law or 
method of silent, heavenly counsel in the earthy which 
is conceeded by spirits and angels. The whole 
arcanum of the spiritual philosophy was revealed to 
my comprehension. I could see its faults and its 

Egyptian, but likewise Daniel the Mede, Ezekicl, and St. John the Revelator 
were held as subjects of spirit-psychology for a purpose wisely appointed in the 
interest of human life. The time is coming, however, when it will be under- 
Stood that a seer is only a seer; and is as well a prophet in mistakes as in the- 
truthfulness of foreknowledge. 

*The effect of this pressure upon the mind ie to enlarge the capacity 
of thought, and aid in disciplining ideas. 

•J-The law of "angel ministration." 



SUFFERING AND SUCCESS. 251 

blessings. The production of "physical phenomena 
and mediumship," I soon learned were the result 
of "Wise Design" on the part of the "immortals." 
The ultimate object of spirit communion was more 
considered than 'present mortal joy and satisfaction. 
I was delighted with the many impressions which I 
received concerning nature. This was my greatest 
source of happiness, and in my reflections upon this 
subject I felt the weight of a sense of knowledge 
which rendered impotent every human thought. 

I now began to feel sad, sorrowful and subdued, 
and I resolved that I would endure with patience 
and fortitude the pangs and pains which were heaped 
upon me; although I could not forbear from com- 
plaint when overdosed with mental activity, or when 
my mind was strained by inordinate exercise as a 
result of a propelling power of spirit will. 

After having remained in this condition for many 
weeks, and after having endured, as I thought, untold 
misery, my guide who was in constant conversational 
communion with me — the clairaudience of my 
mind having been fully established — very unexpect- 
edly remarked : 

"We shall be obliged to induce a much deeper 
state of trance than you have yet experienced, my 
Brother, in order to facilitate your educational pro- 
gress and aid you to a better knowledge concerning 
"spiritual things," and I hope you may yield to the 
discipline thus conferred with freedom and com- 
posure." 



252 SUFFERING AND SUCCESS. 

This information was everything but a comfort 
to my already wounded feelings, and with a sigh, 
I said: 

"Oh dear, what was I about when I asked 
spirits to come and converse with me." 

Perceiving my thoughts and knowing that I 
suffered deeply, my Brother remarked: 

"You need not fear; we will not harm you. 
You have requested me to aid you. It is not my 
purpose to refuse. Clairvoyance is not attained 
without difficulty. Success in your case is a mere 
matter of procrastination.* Our psychologic pro- 
cesses may be a cause of annoyance to your peace, 
but give yourself no distress. I will endeavor to 
satisfy your anxiety by just and reasonable explana- 
tions." 

These words coming opportunely, caused my 
heart to rejoice, and although it was no source 
of pleasure to be held in the embrace of mesmeric 
control my Brother's timely advice was never lost, 
but in the end alone enabled me to pass all disa- 
greeableness and mental inquietude with safety, 
if not with satisfaction. 

For many days I became entranced as often as 
five times in twenty-four hours and although my 
feelings were many times greatly harrowed up, and 
painful to endure, I preferred not to speak of them, 
from the fkct that it was a cause of distress to my 
family, and I had already been informed that the 

*Why thia word should have been used I (to not know. 



SUFFERING AND SUCCESS. 253 

spirits would make me insane if I continued to 
solicit their help. 

Thus I kept my own counsel, and giving no 
heed to the insinuations of those around me, I grad- 
ually but surely became the recipient of the most 
estatic visions in clairvoyance. The entire philosophy 
of the production of sensitive dreams and mental 
impressions was explained to my comprehension. 
Various grand and startling scenes were enstamped 
upon the latent elements of consciousness in my soul. 
The wonders of life, as represented among the Livleun 
hosts who dwell in the realm of elysian grandeur on 
the far heights of our enveloping atmosphere, and 
their relationship to earthly races, nations and 
populations, were mapped in the beautiful pictures 
which were cast upon my inner sight in stereoscopic 
perfection. 

Eising from the earth during periods of enhance- 
ment, my spirit seemed to wander in freedom for 
hundreds of miles through aereal stratums, as the 
freed spirit is supposed to in its unseen abode 
of silent happiness. The untold and inexpressible 
grandeur pertaining to the appearance of other 
worlds, their people, their vegetable and animal 
productions, their oceans, rivers and mountains, their 
phenomenal aspects and visible characteristics; all 
these became distinctly impressed — through the 
natural channels of the senses — upon the conscious- 
ness of my mind, and my delight was unbounded. 

The pams and penalties connected with the 
enforced mesmeric process of education through 
which I had passed, gradually subsided, and although 



254 SUFFERING AND SUCCESS. 

I had many times begged to be released from psy- 
chologic influence, I still felt that the knowledge 
which I had gained was worth more to me than all 
the riches of the earth, and I wept in thankfulness 
when 1 contemplated the happiness which it was 
mine to experience in view of the permission which 
I enjoyed of conferring with the deceased member 
of my Father's household, and of gaining an insight 
into the nature of that future life which all mankind 
so sincerely yearn to possess. 

My spirit guide had taught me much concerning 
the process of organizing and compounding words, 
sentences and paragraphs; had unfolded to my com- 
prehension the principles involved in the origin 
of language, directing my attention to an exposition 
of the methods employed by spirits in analyzing, 
dissecting and sundering authorities in literature, and 
making a complete revelation of the insecurity of all 
worded productions, and the imperfection of oral 
speech. 

One day as I was walking in the open field, 
having been out upon my farm, looking after some 
local interest, I experienced a reception of the 
flowing elements of sympathy from my spirit Father's 
mind, and stopping for a moment, I listened while 
he uttered these words: "Go — to — the — house — my 
son, — / — have — something — of — moment — to — tell — you. 11 

Obeying his command I directed my footsteps 
toward home, when retiring to the little room which 
I usually occupied in writing, and taking my pen in 
hand I wrote, at his request, the following brief 
message w T hich was delivered to my keeping as a 
matter of needful counsel: 



SUFFERING AND SUCCESS. 255 

"Only yesterday I came to speak with you, but 
finding you engaged, I withdrew without affecting 
the object of my solicitude. I desire, my son, that 
you should follow such directions in regard to your 
habits of life as we may from time to time see fit 
to advice. We shall recommend to you the adop- 
tion of a most thorough system of physical training 
and mental discipline. Your clothing must be warm 
and comfortable, your food selected. If you will be 
obedient to your Brother's suggestions he will aid 
you in restraining your appetites and guiding you to 
better methods of living, that you may have more 
perfect health and consequently greater comfort. As 
spirits are reticent of a disclosure of the essential 
characteristics pertaining to their condition of beings 
you should not be too exacting in your demands 
upon our regard, for the best interests of earth and 
heaven require that we should make no hasty 
disclosures."* 

My Father having thus spoken with me simply 
remarked : 

"Be blessed, my son!" And I heard him no 
more. 

At the time to which reference is here made or 
just previous my bodily weight was one hundred and 
eighty-one pounds. I had often noticed and fre- 
quently remarked to those around me, that as I 



♦My Father had been in spirit life but eighteen months when this message 
was given. 



256 SUFFERING AND SUCCESS. 

advanced in years I amassed physical substance and 
more closely resembled my Father who was in old 
age a very corpulent man* — unfortunately a min- 
ister — and that if I continued to grow fleshy, I 
should one day become his equal in bodily propor- 
tions, which was really not a very agreeable thing 
to contemplate; but following the timely admonitions 
of my Brother, as given subsequently to the inter- 
view which I had with my Father, I began to 
observe a decided falling off in the amount of my flesh, 
and it was not more than three months before I had 
become much emaciated. I grew weak and feeble, was 
nervous and irritable, and trembled upon the least 
exertion, until slowly, but surely, I was reduced to 
the, to me, extremely meager weight of one hundred 
and thirty -nine pounds or in other words, I sustained 
an absolute reduction of forty-two pounds from the 
material constituents of my mortal form.f 

My neighbors noticing the extraordinary poverty 
of my appearance, now began to inquire concerning 
my health, saying: 

"You must have been quite sick, Mr. "Wright." 
■"Why, how pale and thin you look." "Have you 
been long confined to the house?" "I am sorry to 
see you looking so poorly." "I hope you will soon 

*IIis weight was 225 pounds. 

fThe author does n t believe that history furnishes a parallel instance 
of physical emaciation as produced by the mesmeric influence of spirits, and he 
is quite as certain that through the exercise of the same power, slow, buc sure, 
starvation could bo pioduced. The reader may have a laugh at my expense, 
if he feels so inclined fur I did surely quarrel with my spirit Brother on account 
of fasting so long. Indeed, I am disposed to tnink that I really outdone Daniel 
the Hebrew prophet, in starvation processes by many a month. 



BUFFERING AND SUCCESS. 257 

be better." With many similar expressions of sur- 
prise and sympathy. 

Thus I was daily reminded of my condition by 
my family and others, until I appealed to my spirit 
magnetizer with words of severe animadversion, to 
withdraw his influence from the control of my 
mental faculties, and especially that of alimentiveness 
— desire for food — which had been the cause of the 
depletion of the chemical constituents of my body, 
and consequently of the wan and frail appearance 
which I presented. 

In a few weeks I began to recuperate. The 
wondrous change which I had experienced, while it 
had been a cause of great displeasure as well as 
suffering to myself, was at the same time product- 
ive of much improvement in the condition of my 
mind. My thoughts were more clearly defined and 
active, and subjects which had previously cost me a 
vast amount of reflection without satisfactory result, 
were no longer difficult of solution. Sights and 
scenes more gorgeous and beautiful than the imagin- 
ation is capable of picturing, rose before my trance 
awakened senses during sleep, causing me to realize 
feelings of excessive delight and happiness. Other 
scenes more loathsome and disgusting than all our 
conceptions of distress, degradation or satanic horror 
were impressed upon my sense of vision, until the 
sight became sickening and painful to witness. 

It soon became my delight to induce mental 
illumination. Whenever my condition admitted of a 
propriety in so doing I could lie down upon my 
couch or bed, and, soliciting aid from above, would 



258 SUFFERING AND SUCCESS. 

soon feel a drowsyness stealing over my conscious 
thoughts, accompanied by a dizzy sensation which 
hovered over my soul until my mind was lost to • all 
outward realizations. In this state of somnambulic 
sleep, and by mesmeric processes gently employed 
and only known to spirits, my mental faculties 
would be gradually aroused to activity, and my per- 
ception and consciousness were thus rendered abnor- 
mally vivid and sensitive in the extreme. In this 
clairvoyant light of mental experience, in which I 
often remained for hours, and in which I was 
cautiously held by the will-force of my invisible 
guide, I contemplated the scenes addressed to my 
understanding or realized every natural ability to 
observe and reflect, which comes within the province 
of the organic functions of the mind. In this con- 
dition — through super-induced action of the senses — 
I beheld and conversed with spirits; I felt every 
amotion of joy, sorrow, exaltation and humility. 
Thoughts as brilliant as lightning, as sweet and 
agreeable as loveliness, or as dark, oppressive and 
horrifying as the chains of hades, brooded over my 
soul's inner consciousness. Sweet and gentle music 
resounded upon my ear, or discordant notes worried 
my sense of joy and disturbed my admiration for 
the delightful harmony expressed in accordant sounds. 

I could now see that I was gradually returning 
to my former condition of mind, with the added 
glorious privilege of hearing and seeing in the spirit, 
whenever it might be deemed wise or beneficial, 
during the few remaining years of my earthly life. 

Thus I had suffered the pains and anxieties, the 



SUFFERING AND SUCCESS. 259 

doubts, trials and misgivings, consequent upon becom- 
ing the subject of an overmastering psychologic 
power; and even as this influence came upon me 
almost imperceptibly, slowly but surely binding my 
mental faculties in subdued, subordinate action, as 
was optional with the wisdom of my spirit operator, 
so as gradually — after about two years — was I 
released from nearly every unpleasant imposed 
influence, sensation and emotion, and my mind was 
no longer held in abeyance of another's desires and 
will. As I regained my freedom from the state 
of mental imprisonment which I had so long endured, 
I retained all the memories which were developed as 
a result of my abnormal visions, conversations, 
journeyings and contemplations "in the spirit/' and i 

WAS COMPARATIVELY FREE. 



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Address as above. 



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